


Visions Past

by fightingsumdemons



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Attempted Murder, Blood Sharing, Bonding, Brutal Murder, Cult of Silas, Dark Magic, Domestic, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Secrets, Fights, Final Battle, First Time, Forced Cohabitation, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Immortality, Interracial Relationship, Kissing, Love, Love Confessions, Lovers To Enemies, Magical Artifacts, Memory Magic, Mind Sex, Murder, Mutual Pining, Non-Graphic Violence, Period-Typical Racism, Personal Growth, Protective Damon Salvatore, Protectiveness, Relationship(s), Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Sharing a Bed, Shower Sex, Slow Build, Spells & Enchantments, The Cure, Threats of Violence, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:14:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 47,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28677966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fightingsumdemons/pseuds/fightingsumdemons
Summary: Bonnie and Damon wake up to find themselves in an odd world all alone, with no means of communicating with anyone outside the strange ghost town they inhabit. Things become even more bizarre, when they begin to find themselves as an audience to the past memories of Bennett women. (POST 3X20 AU, ALSO ON FANFICTION.NET)
Relationships: Bonnie Bennett/Damon Salvatore, Caroline Forbes/Tyler Lockwood, Elena Gilbert/Stefan Salvatore, Original Male Character/Original Female Character, Silas/Qetsiyah (Vampire Diaries)
Comments: 40
Kudos: 77





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

> \- POST 3X20 AU WITH SOME CHANGES  
> 1\. Alaric and Esther actually did die, there's no Evil!Alaric  
> 2\. Lucy Bennett was turned into a vampire by Damon, not Bonnie's mom, Abby. I'm cutting Abby out of this, instead Lucy is the one with Abby's general storyline (Lucy agrees to help Bonnie with opening the coffin bc they're family, it's just speculation on who entombed Mikael, Jamie is Lucy's stepbrother, transitioning to life as a vampire is still the same general storyline)
> 
> \- If you have any other questions in terms of AU, let me know! I've had to rely on wikis to refresh my memory of TVD S3, so it's possible I missed some things.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie asks sharply, getting out of her car and slams the driver's door with more force than necessary.

She's just returned from lunch with Caroline, hoping to watch a couple Housewives episodes; it's a stupid and shallow show, but lately Bonnie's happy enough to indulge in a mind-numbing activity. Things have slowed down ever since Alaric and Esther died, the Originals left town and Klaus came to an agreement with Elena about her blood. She's glad it's all over, and wants to savour the free time she has, specifically by avoiding a certain Salvatore altogether. They may have worked together in the past, but she still finds him supremely irritating and selfish.

"You weren't answering your phone," Damon replies, a stupid smirk on his face and approaches her slowly in the driveway of her house.

"Yeah, because I was ignoring your calls and didn't want to talk to you."

"If this is about me turning your cousin, I thought we were over this," he retorts dismissively, and Bonnie rolls her eyes, walking around her car and up the pathway to her house.

At least once she gets inside she can ignore Damon, and turn up the sound of her TV show to drown out his annoying voice; maybe she can even give him an aneurysm, if he starts being extremely noisy. She practically runs towards the front door despite knowing she can't actually outrun him, pulling out her key and grabs the doorknob when the door creaks slightly.

"What the hell?" she mutters, pushing open the door gently with a frown.

"What is it?" Damon asks from beside her, but Bonnie can't even be bothered to be annoyed that he's there.

"The door's open...I locked it this morning, I know it. My dad's gone for the weekend too, no one should be here."

Bonnie peers inside, stepping into the foyer of her house quietly. She flicks the lightswitch, but nothing happens and it's still eerily dark. An uneasy feeling grows in her stomach, a sense of foreboding that something is definitely off.

"Witchy, let me in, so I can check," Damon whispers fiercely from outside, and she rolls her eyes again.

"I can handle myself just fine, Damon. I'm not going to invite you in, it could be nothing," she hisses back vehemently, not bothering to face him and takes a few more steps inside.

"There could be-"

Bonnie feels her body collapse to the ground, her vision going dark.


	2. CHAPTER 1: Don't Ever Ask for Permission, Ask for Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is based off the song "Forgive Me" by Chloe x Halle. Happy reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- !IMPORTANT!  
> 1\. Explicit content will be in later chapters, I will be giving a warning at the beginning of a chapter if it contains more explicit content  
> 2\. Things are going to move fairly quickly in this story; this first chapter covers a substantial timeframe, but hopefully you guys get an idea of what's happening, and where Damon and Bonnie are at in terms of their relationship  
> 3\. takes place from 3rd POV, goes back and forth between Damon and Bonnie; some chapters will be from the author's POV, focusing in on other characters
> 
> \- This is not my first story, but it's my first time writing canon divergence and going into supernatural/action; I don't really think it's a strong suit of mine, so please bear with me if some stuff seems silly or too easy in a way
> 
> \- This chapter contains some swearing
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

"Report?"

"We have succeeded. Our spells are holding, they're still healthy and breathing, unaware of-"

"They? Miss Bennett was the target, no one else should be with her."

"We ran into an unforeseen circumstance. Damon Salvatore, the vampire was with her, he saw what happened to her. We had no choice, the vampire would've found some way to attack us or he would've reported back to his brother and Miss Bennett's friends. We had reason to believe she'd be alone, it was a misstep but letting him go would've been a grave error."

"Fine then, kill him now!"

"I...I'm afraid we can't do that. The spell is so intricate, if we kill him then we risk unravelling all our work It'll be hard for us to succeed again, considering how delicate the situation already is, Miss Bennett may not be in our possession again and she'll never find the answer we need. Besides, with the vampire in our possession, this can be used to our advantage to quell any suspicions that their friends may have. Even with the vampire in our possession, we have no other reason to believe that anything is wrong, our plan still seems to be working."

"Very well then. Keep him alive, feed him blood and ensure he remains healthy along with Miss Bennett. Continue to monitor them constantly, in case anything goes wrong. If you are right, then soon we shall have our master."

* * *

**DAY 1**

* * *

Bonnie wakes up with a start, looking around the room wildly; it's definitely not her bedroom, or any room in her house for that matter. She's in a master bedroom with sage-green walls, silver photo frames of black-and-white cities, sunlight emanating from three long narrow windows; there's a comfy-looking white sofa in the corner and two dark-brown dressers lined up against the wall.

"Hello...? Dad? Elena? Caroline? Is anyone here?" Bonnie calls out hesitantly, getting out of bed slowly and checking the time. How on earth is it noon? It had been around 3 pm when she blacked out...has she really been unconscious for more than a day? "Hello? Anyone at all?"

Bonnie tiptoes across the room, twisting the doorknob slowly and peeks out into the hallway; there's some natural light coming in from a couple skylights and the walls are a nice light-blue colour, but otherwise they're bare with no personal photos and there's a couple other doors, all of them completely shut. Something is definitely off about this place.

Bonnie creeps out onto the upstairs landing, and descends the wide white staircase slowly, "Hello? Is anyone here?"

It's a nice house, there's no denying that; the front foyer is a nice cream colour, there's a couple large potted plants and a dark grey entryway table with some succulents and candles, all of which look pretty new and there isn't even a speck of dust or disrepair. But still, no one comes to greet Bonnie which unnerves her even more. She's about to move from the foyer to explore the house a little more, when something in the side window of the front door catches her eye. She immediately wrenches the front door open, taking in an unconscious Damon Salvatore lying on the front porch; she looks around, seeing only a clean front yard and Damon's car sitting in the driveway. They're clearly in a neighbourhood somewhere but there's no movement, no other cars parked in front of any of the other houses; that has to mean something, but at the same time it provides no answers as to how they arrived here, or what here means exactly.

Bonnie gets on her knees, examining Damon gingerly but he's only unconscious, no sign of desiccation or a stake in his heart. She pokes him gently, "Damon...Damon, wake up! Damon! Get up, c'mon!"

"Wuzzgoinon?" Damon groans, shifting slightly and rubs a hand over his face dazedly.

"You tell me! One minute I'm standing in my house, next thing I know I'm in this weird place! What happened?"

Damon sits up, blinking slowly with a quizzical expression and Bonnie gets to her feet, watching him expectantly, "I don't know what happened either, okay? All I saw was you collapsing on the floor, a couple people standing in the hallway of your house and I couldn't get in because _you_ didn't invite me in. I blacked out, next thing I know I'm here...but I have no idea where we are, I've never seen this place before in my life."

"So, you have no idea why we're here?" Bonnie asks skeptically, crossing her arms with narrowed eyes as Damon gets to his feet with a huff.

" _No_. Do you really think I'd get us stuck here together, all alone? I have no good reason to be with you of all people," Damon scowls, and Bonnie rolls her eyes. He has a point, still this has to be a nightmare of some kind. Maybe it's some lame bonding exercise from her friends, or even worse, a sick joke or cunning ploy by some new big bad guy in town, or maybe Klaus.

"Okay, let's call someone…" Bonnie feels her pockets, letting out a frustrated sigh, "I don't have my phone on me."

Damon feels around his pockets, looking through his leather jacket with a frown, "I don't have my phone either."

"Um...maybe your phone is in the car, or there's one somewhere in this house. I mean, there should be one, every house has a landline. You check your car, I'll look in the house," Bonnie rationalizes, not bothering to wait for a response and practically rushes back into the house.

She runs upstairs, rushing into every room and scours every inch for a phone, knocking things over without a care; she goes back downstairs after an unsuccessful search, looking through the rooms downstairs with no luck once again. The closest sign to modern technology is a TV, but not a single damn phone in sight. Footsteps echo throughout the house, and Bonnie turns around to see a grim Damon.

"I have no idea where my phone went, and there's no barrier for this house. I got in just fine," Damon informs her, and she sucks in a sharp breath. They have no way of contacting anyone, no idea of where they are or if their friends even know that they're missing.

"I couldn't find a phone either...if there's no barrier, then maybe the owner's dead?" Bonnie grimaces. That logic offers no comfort at all.

"Let's go to another house then. We can sneak in, you can use your magic or I can compel them to let us use their phone."

"We're not going to compel anyone unless necessary," Bonnie replies firmly, "We can just knock and ask, like decent human beings."

"Ah, well, that's going to be tough, considering I'm not human," Damon smirks, and Bonnie tilts her head towards the ceiling, sighing wearily. It already feels like torture, having to be around only Damon.

"Let's just go find someone so we can get out of here, okay?" Bonnie snaps, brushing past him and walks back to the foyer, stepping out of the house. Damon trails behind her, the two of them walking across the front yard to the next house, stepping onto the porch; she knocks loudly on the door and takes a step back. She waits patiently for a couple moments, her annoyance and concern growing simultaneously as no one answers the door, not even the creak of a floorboard can be heard from inside the house.

"Okay, _now_ can we try using a little magic or brute force?" Damon suggests.

"Or maybe we could try just checking if the door is unlocked?" Bonnie counters, twisting the doorknob and opening the door.

They exchange startled looks, Damon stepping inside first and Bonnie follows; she notices a confused look on his face, clearly baffled that there's no barrier spell but also at the sight before them. The house is bare and empty, it looks like it hasn't been lived in for years. Bonnie shut her eyes for a moment, a nauseating feeling curdling in her stomach and a million questions running through her head.

**VPVPVPVPVP**

Bonnie stares at the stupid spoon, her hands clenched tightly with her brow furrowed determinedly; she refuses to accept the truth, this definitely can't be real and it must be some sort of mistake. Her magic _can't_ be gone.

"We need to talk," Damon strides into the room, looking a little angry and Bonnie looks up from the spoon, arching a brow at him.

"Yeah, we do," Bonnie sighs, glancing down at the spoon.

"I don't think I'm a vampire."

"I don't think I'm a witch."

"Wait, what?" they both exclaim, staring at each other in shock.

"What makes you think you're not a vampire?"

"What makes you think you're not a witch?"

"Well, I've been trying to move this stupid spoon for the past ten minutes and nothing has happened. It hasn't even twitched, I can't feel any of my magic. I even tried the plants in here, and nothing, I couldn't even feel the spirits or nature. What about you, what makes you think you're not a vampire anymore?"

"I could get into all of the houses just fine, I tried to use my vamp speed and nothing happened. Hell, I even tried to lift up my damn car and I definitely paid for trying to do that!" Damon explains, and Bonnie is filled with a vivid image of Damon sputtering, red-faced as he tries to lift a car; she almost laughs out loud at the absurdity of it, except this really isn't good news at all.

"How can you be sure, though?"

"Technically, there's only one way to know for sure...you need to cut yourself."

"I'm not going to do that, Damon. We can find blood somewhere else, there's no way in hell you're going to get it from me."

"Yeah, who am I going to get it from?! All the other houses were empty, clearly no one has lived here for years, I don't have a lot of options! I just need you to make a tiny cut, just enough to draw a little blood. I have more control than Stefan the Ripper, I won't go berserk if I'm actually still a vampire."

"There has to be another way to do this, another test or-"

"Yeah, and how long do you want to spend on figuring out if I'm a vampire or not? You just have to make a tiny cut, I'm _not_ going to attack you," Damon replies harshly. Bonnie huffs, grabbing a knife from a drawer and watches Damon suspiciously as she cuts her finger a little. She squeezes the little cut, drawing some blood and waits for the sharp fangs and the inhuman eyes to appear, but they never do. "I didn't feel anything. My face didn't change, did it?"

Bonnie shakes her head, unable to speak and he walks out of the room after a moment, clearly more affected than he's letting on. Bonnie runs a hand through her hair worriedly, her eyes still on the hallway that Damon had walked through. If both of them are human now, what on earth does that say about what happened to them?

* * *

**DAY 3**

* * *

Damon stares down the main road, feeling stunned and angry, his knuckles flexing so hard around the steering wheel that they were stark-white; their last chance, their last hope to find some way out of this place is gone.

"Damn," Bonnie curses, hitting the car dashboard frustratedly.

They'd tried to leave town, gone past the pastel town sign with the words 'Come Back Again Soon!' only to find themselves back on the main town road. He'd dreamt about being human before, but his existence at the moment feels pretty miserable. Damon is used to being chaotic, always drifting around with no plan but this is another level, he has absolutely nowhere to go and no one else to see besides the one person who despises him. Now he has to endure the feeling of hopelessness settling into his chest, without the relief of a humanity switch and only Bonnie around as a source of human contact.

"That's it, then," Damon states flatly.

Every building in this town had no means of communication, not a single piece of technology actually worked; every time they picked up a phone, it went dead and even the radios they'd tried had only provided them with static noise. The electricity still worked, lights turned on in grocery stores and the gas stations still functioned, but there was no proof that human life existed, not even an animal or insect could be seen or heard. Leaving town had been their last chance to actually go and find someone, and now it's gone; they're completely alone, secretly Damon wouldn't be surprised if they'd died that day at Bonnie's house.

"Let's go back to the house, then," Bonnie replies despondently, her voice wobbling a little and she turns away from Damon, her dark hair shielding her face from view.

He can tell she's upset, maybe even trying not to cry but he doesn't know what to do, much less what to say. They're barely even close enough to be that open with each other, they're not even really friends. Damon releases a tense sigh, pressing on the gas pedal and starts driving.

* * *

**2 WEEKS**

* * *

Bonnie hums, a small smile gracing her face as she feels a slight breeze in the air and hears the rustle of the nearby trees. It's so eerie without the sounds of any people or animals, and it's always a relief to actually hear nature in some way.

Bonnie's been trying to practice her magic every day, attempting some basic spells but nothing ever works. Other than that, since Bonnie is now trapped in this world with nothing to do, she's started to take up a couple hobbies, try and stay occupied without thinking about the helplessness of their situation. Besides, living with Damon is definitely not ideal; they fight constantly about the tiniest things, sometimes their conversations feel so stilted because it's hard not to be so antagonistic towards each other. In the past, they've been allies when needed but the topic was usually about the latest bad guy or how to save Elena. In this place, there's only the need for human contact, which unfortunately is each other.

She'd love to rage and yell at him like she normally did back in Mystic Falls, but there's no one else around. The fighting can feel cathartic for Bonnie, it's nice to redirect her emotions somewhere else until the arguments die down and she just ends up feeling tired. It's becoming exhausting, fighting with the only other person around and she suspects that Damon feels the same.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie hears Damon ask, and props one eye open to look at him. He'd gone for a long run this morning, and naturally he'd come to find her afterwards, maybe to annoy her or make sure she didn't disappear on him.

"I read a book on yoga, so I thought I'd try it. It helps you spiritually, keeps your core balanced and keeps you healthy," Bonnie answers calmly, and Damon snorts derisively.

"Yeah, okay. Let me know if yoga will give you back your magic, then I'll be interested," he retorts, looking somewhat resentful. She huffs angrily, lately it feels like he's always making some sort of jab at her for losing her magic, as if this whole situation is her fault.

"Are you ever going to stop bringing that up?! What do you want me to say, I didn't plan for this to happen," Bonnie snaps defensively, getting up on her feet to look at him properly. "What do you want to hear, Damon, hmm?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"Then STOP taking your anger out on me, do you think I want to be trapped here anymore than you do?! I hate this stupid place, I hate that it's a ghost town, I hate that I'm here with you of all people, I hate that you always have to be so goddamn annoying!"

Damon jabs a finger in her face, looking pissed off, "You know what, I should've never gone over to your house that day. I should've stayed put!"

Bonnie lets out a hollow laugh, "Wow, you are such a gentleman. It's all clear now, I can see _exactly_ why Elena chose Stefan over you."

The words are out of Bonnie's mouth before she can stop herself, only determined to hit Damon where it hurts; it clearly works, Bonnie's eyes widening as she watches Damon's face turn stony and almost mask-like. He turns around so sharply before she can say anything else, walking back into the house and slams the backdoor roughly.

Bonnie runs a hand over her face, rubbing her temples tiredly and sighs. If this is the afterlife, she isn't sure if she can stand an eternity of this. An odd feeling creeps up on her, the faintest whisper climbing into her ears and she frowns, looking around the backyard carefully; the whisper seems to grow louder, another person joining in but it's too unintelligible to make out.

"Hello? Is someone here?" Bonnie calls loudly, descending the patio steps and looks around, cupping a hand over her eyes to block the sun's rays but no one appears. The whispers subside, leaving only silence in its wake and Bonnie shakes her head, scolding herself for letting her mind play tricks on her.

* * *

**1 MONTH**

* * *

Damon walks into the kitchen, still feeling a little unsteady from a long run outside and ready to devour whatever food is in the fridge. He's taken up running every morning, since he isn't a vampire anymore he might as well try to stay fit, retain at least a smidge of the strength he once had. He stops short at the sight of Bonnie standing in front of the large island counter, a streak of flour on her cheek and there are baking ingredients scattered everywhere; his lips twitch as he takes in the mess, managing to tamper down a smile as he goes to grab something from the fridge.

"What are you trying to bake?" he asks, deciding to be civil and she looks up sharply, trying to tell if he's being sincere or not.

"There was this recipe I wanted to try, it was this brunch meal that my grams used to make for me but it's not going very well, I suck at making anything pastry-related or just baking in general," Bonnie sighs, picking up a recipe book with a fierce look of determination on her face. "There should still be some coffee in the pot, if you wanted some."

"Yeah, okay," Damon brings out the toaster, noticing a brightly-coloured book on the ground. "I guess you're having trouble again with the crossword."

"I just have two damn answers to finish, but I can't get it. It's not like there's anything useful in this house that could help me."

"Hmm, you just don't have a good memory."

"I'm just not as ancient as you, Damon. Don't worry, I'll be sure to ask you when a history-related question pops up in my crossword puzzles."

"Considering you clearly suck at puzzles, I'd be happy to help," Damon gives Bonnie a sarcastic smile, and she rolls her eyes.

Talking to her is getting a little easier, it's not like he has much choice in the matter but their conversations lack the sting it used to have before they got here. They don't really have much to fight about, she does still try to practice magic everyday but he makes sure not to comment on it, she wouldn't appreciate him saying it's a lost cause; other than that, they fight about little things but the next hour, they'd be fine again. He still doesn't like her, she can be a lousy roommate sometimes with her loud music and failed baking experiments; she's at least a better roommate than Stefan, who'd always felt the need to do the strangest cleaning tasks and hummed way too loudly. When she isn't replying with a cutting retort or taking a jab at him, she can actually be somewhat pleasant.

"Do you hear that?" Bonnie exclaims, and Damon looks up from the toaster he's trying to set up. He listens for a moment, but nothing comes to his ears except for the hum of the fridge and the AC.

"Uh, what is it you're hearing?" Damon asks, and Bonnie shakes her head with a confused smile.

"Nothing, I must be going crazy or something."

"Well, that does sound like you."

"Shut up, Damon."

* * *

**1 ½ MONTHS**

* * *

"Requesting cleanup on aisle 5, cleanup on aisle 5," Damon's voice rings through the grocery store, and Bonnie rolls her eyes, setting down a carton of eggs in their shopping cart and makes her way over to Damon.

They'd managed to find a grocery store during their first week in this place, the electricity still works and like all the other stores, it contains the eerie silence that's now associated with a lack of a human presence. The food is still intact, nothing has gone to waste and everything is still organized and clean, no signs of havoc or destruction; even the expiry dates were pretty far into the future, there are other grocery stores in this small town. As odd as it is to find stores functioning properly without the need for human maintenance, it's a relief at all that they can still manage to eat without having to worry. Bonnie turns the corner onto aisle 5, eyeing a smirking Damon reproachfully.

"Did you manage to reach anyone?" she asks casually, and he shakes his head. It's a routine for them, he would check the phones and she would ask if they had worked every time, but it's always the same response.

"Nothing happened. Still only good for calling you when we go shopping," he explains, placing two large chip bags in the cart.

"Right. Can we get some more matches? We ran out two days ago, and I need it to try my magic."

"I thought you said last week that you weren't going to try to practice any magic."

"No, what happened was that you said it's a bust, and I didn't say anything."

"It sounded a lot like we were in agreement."

"I still have to try, there's still a chance I could get my powers back. We haven't even been here for two months, I can't give up," Bonnie protests defensively, gripping the grocery cart tightly and Damon pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Well, there's an even better chance that your attempts will fail every time. What do you think will happen if you get your magic back? There's no way out of this place."

"If I had my magic, then maybe that could change-"

"But you don't! We're stuck, take a look at reality, Bonnie," Damon retorts firmly, his arms crossed together tightly with an exasperated look on his face.

"Do you always have to be so goddamn negative? I'm not asking for you to be my cheerleader or anything, but would it kill you to have a little trust in me? I'm just trying to find a way for us to get out of this situation!"

"You've never trusted me before, and yet you ask that I trust you?!"

"Oh, right, because you've done so much to try to earn my trust," Bonnie snarls, letting go of the grocery cart with an irritated breath. "You finish grocery shopping, I don't want to have this conversation anymore."

Bonnie storms past Damon, rushing out of the store quickly before he can call after her. She knows that it's easier for Damon not to have hope, to be more on the pessimistic side of things but all she's asking for is a little faith, even the tiniest sliver would suffice. He doesn't even have to cheer her on, all she wants is for him to not always question her.

It's true, she's never really trusted him but he's always used her as collateral damage in the past, never really apologizing for anything he did or coming up with excuses. Things may be different here, there wasn't any supernatural big bad but that didn't change the fact that he's still Damon. She isn't about to skate over their history like it was nothing, flip the page happily and move on from the past.

A cold feeling trickles down her back, garbled whispers crawling up into her ears; it's happening again. It isn't some trick from her mind, something really is calling her. Bonnie feels a tug in her gut, pulling her forward and suddenly it's like she knows exactly where to go; the voices grow louder as she keeps walking, the pull from inside becoming more insistent and stronger. She turns the corner onto a neighbourhood street, a gasp escaping her mouth as she gazes at a small brown house with white shutters, a thin tree in the front yard.

She runs towards the house, practically sprinting as the voices become more aggressive and insistent, and she knows that this is where they want her to go. Bonnie runs up the steps of the house, about to grab the doorknob to see if the house is locked but the door swings open slowly; she steps inside, tears pricking her eyes as she looks around, desperate to catch every detail of the house. The smell of incense and honey, the same picture of the skyline of Georgia, everything's the same. She hears footsteps from upstairs, a grin blooming across her face and she runs up the staircase quickly, feeling relief and happiness; she isn't alone, there really are other people here, she can be happy with her Grams again.

Bonnie runs into her Grams' bedroom, her grin dropping quickly as she stumbles back, leaning against the bedroom wall for support. Her jaw drops, her breathing quickening and she feels lightheaded all of a sudden; it isn't possible...this can't be real, this can't actually be happening again. Bonnie gazes in horror at Grams laying down on her bed, clearly dead; she knows how this goes all too well, she's lived through this moment. The moment when she realized her Grams had died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, kudos and comments are appreciated! Or feel free to reach out to me on tumblr, my username is hypedaboutnothing. Next chapter will be posted within a month.


	3. CHAPTER 2: Find Solace in Your Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter name is based on the song "Okay On Your Own" by mxmtoon ft. Carly Rae Jepsen. Happy reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- !IMPORTANT!  
> 1\. For this chapter + future ones, to distinguish between characters in memories, they'll be addressed differently; for example, it'll be Memory Elena = M.E. or Memory Caroline = M.C. and you get the idea
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

Bonnie watches, paralyzed at the sight of her Grams dead all over again; it's as if all the air has been sucked from her lungs, Bonnie's trying to steady her breathing and her knees are like jelly, feeling as if she's going to collapse at any second. She hears footsteps approach the room, feeling a mix of curiosity and trepidation, her eyes widening when she sees who enters the room. A scream tries to claw its way out of her throat, her hands gripping the wall for support as she watches a slightly younger version of herself walk over to Grams, holding a black thermos.

"Here you go, Grams," Memory Bonnie says, placing the thermos down on the nightstand beside the bed; Bonnie feels sick, she's going to throw up or faint having to watch herself experience one of the worst moments of her life. M.B. grabs the blanket from the end of the bed, pulling it up to cover Grams but stops short when she finally looks properly at Grams, her face going blank for a few seconds.

"No, no, no…" Bonnie murmurs, watching the scene unfold. She can't look away, it's too horrifying to even try and all she can see is Grams's lifeless body and M.B.'s face slowly cracking, the heartbreaking realization creeping up on her face.

"Grams...Grams!" M.B. whispers, her voice growing louder. M.B. shakes Grams roughly, desperation taking over her expression and Bonnie grits her teeth, trying to ignore the nausea bubbling in her stomach. "Grams, wake up! Grams!"

Bonnie claps a hand over her mouth, feeling a few tears escape; this isn't happening, she can't be watching this again. She has to be hell, only hell would show her one of the worst moments of her life. M.B. is crying now, still shaking Grams to see if she'll wake up but Bonnie knows it's no use. Grams is gone.

"Grams! ELENA!" M.B. cries, tears streaming down her face and Bonnie sinks to the floor, feeling the vibrations of Memory Elena's footsteps entering the room. Bonnie covers her face, trying to stifle her tears as she listens to M.B.'s cries about Grams, M.E. calling the police and comforting M.B.

Bonnie releases a few shuddering breaths, trying to calm herself down as she drowns out M.B.'s awful sobs. Bonnie buries her face in her hands, unwilling to watch the scene any longer and waits; she can't seem to move, she can't get up and she feels trapped, waiting for some kind of relief to get her out of this memory.

Suddenly, the crying stops and everything goes quiet; Bonnie doesn't feel the wall against her back anymore, instead all she feels is the heat of the sun glaring down at her and the rough concrete of the road against her legs.

"Bonnie, where the hell did you go?!" Damon's insistent voice booms angrily, but she can't look up. She feels angry at him all over again, for his part in killing her Grams and how his arrival into town set off every bad thing that's happened to her.

"Like you care," Bonnie retorts, her voice steady with controlled fury but she makes no move to get up and actually look at him.

"Considering you're the only other person in this place, I think I have a little bit of a reason to care! Where did you go, and why are you in the middle of the road?"

"Because I'm in hell with _you_ ," Bonnie states coldly, finally getting up but avoids Damon's insistent gaze. She walks right past him and starts heading back towards the grocery store, uncaring of whether he follows or not.

* * *

**1 ¾ MONTHS**

* * *

It's been a week since they've talked.

He's spent the whole time mulling over what had happened, why she'd been so angry all of a sudden but he hasn't pushed the situation; he's given her space throughout the days or they'd just sit in silence, working quietly even when they cooked and cleaned up dinners. Damon comes down to the kitchen, slowing down when he sees Bonnie is already in there; he's unsure if he should just get coffee later or silently pour himself a cup before retreating to another room.

"Hey...did you want coffee?" she asks tentatively, already pouring herself a cup and looks at him expectantly for an answer. Damon blinks, a little surprised that they're finally speaking and walks up to the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, sure," Damon responds slowly, observing her sharply. Her talking to him again is a good sign, and at least it's not an aggressive or angry tone.

Bonnie takes a deep breath, pouring him a cup as well, "Listen, uh, something really weird happened after we argued in the grocery store, when I went out to get some air and let you finish the shopping, this weird feeling came over me, there were these voices whispering and this weird pull trying to lead me somewhere."

"Huh, I didn't realize you were already going crazy."

"Will you let me finish my story?" Bonnie retorts, narrowing her eyes but continues on, "I started walking, the voices were growing louder and there was this tug in my gut that became stronger and then I saw my Grams's house. Everything was the same, except it was a memory."

"What memory?"

"Let's just say it was a painful one," Bonnie answers carefully, not quite meeting Damon's eyes, "But it was real, it was my memory, I saw myself and it went down exactly as I remembered it. I heard those whispers before that too, they mean something, I know it."

"Couldn't it have been some trick or hallucination?"

"I don't know, but it was so specific, not a lot of people would know about it and it felt so real to me. Everything was solid but I was like a ghost, even though it was a memory of mine. When the memory ended, that's when you found me in the middle of the road."

"You're absolutely sure this happened?" Damon asks doubtfully. This place is definitely weird, but seeing past memories is more unsettling than odd.

"I think I would know if it was real or not, Damon. When the whispers come again-"

"Come again?! You're actually going to listen and follow them again?!"

"Technically, this was the fourth time I heard them, and yes! They clearly mean something, I can't ignore them."

"It's not that hard if you try."

"I've been trying to ignore you for the past couple years, but that's never really worked out, now has it?" Bonnie snaps, both of them glaring at each other. "Damon, this isn't a coincidence. I have to find out what it all means! This could be our chance to go home."

"You don't know that, it could be a fluke."

"Well, YOU don't know what it means either," Bonnie argues defiantly, "Frankly, I don't give a shit if you think it's a death trap or some drugged-up hallucination, you can't stop me. I'm going to follow these memories _no matter what_."

Damon huffs, staring at the fierce look on Bonnie's face. He isn't a vampire anymore, he has no actual way to stop her and he can't monitor her all day. Even if he doesn't like the idea of these memories, he isn't going to let her go off by herself; who knows what would happen if Bonnie is all by herself.

"You can follow whatever creepy memory starts calling for you, but I'm coming with. I'm not about to let you go off on your own," Damon spits out reluctantly.

"Fine by me," Bonnie chirps, handing Damon his coffee and he pointedly ignores her triumphant expression.

* * *

"Do you hear anything yet?" Damon teases for the fourth time, and Bonnie turns to glare at him for a moment, before turning back to look out the car window again.

"Are you sure you didn't take a wrong turn? This doesn't look like the road to the drugstore," Bonnie frowns, peering at the road and Damon scoffs.

"I think I'd know, we've been here for more than two months, there isn't anywhere to go anyway."

"Are you sure? You were really into 'Whatta Man' when it started playing, so maybe you were too distracted and missed the street."

"Uh, I don't get that distracted and don't diss that song, I could hear you humming and tapping your judgy little foot along to the music. It's only a couple more minutes, okay?"

"Pull over."

"Are you kidding me? I know where I'm going, judgy."

"Damon, PULL OVER. PULL OVER, I HEAR THEM!" Bonnie raises her voice, tuning into the voices that surround her. There's that odd feeling again in her gut, and Damon turns off the car ignition. She gets out of the car, slamming the door and turns to face the forest; she hears Damon get out of the car too, walking to move beside her but she doesn't bother waiting, choosing to walk ahead into the pine trees.

Bonnie focuses on the whispers, walking a little quicker and she can sense that she's getting closer to what they want her to see, she can feel the tug inside growing stronger as she keeps moving. She spots a building in the middle of a clearing, squinting to see what it is and continues walking until she's close enough to see it.

"What the hell?" Damon mutters from behind her, staring up at the Mystic Grille restaurant in the middle of the forest. Bonnie keeps walking, opening the door and peeks inside to see people bustling around the Grille; she walks inside, scanning the room and no one notices their entrance.

"I...I think this is another memory, that's why no one can see us," Bonnie explains, sweeping the room with her eyes.

"Okay, well what memory is it?" Damon demands, and Bonnie's eyes land on three girls seated at a table in the corner.

"It's another one of mine," Bonnie points to where a younger version of herself, Caroline and Elena are sitting at a table, laughing and chatting happily. "I think that might be where we get our answers."

Bonnie approaches the table carefully, her eyes flickering between the three girls and Damon comes to stand beside her. Bonnie can see that the younger version of herself has braces, Caroline's hair is in a ballerina bun, and Bonnie recognizes a homemade tote bag of Elena's slung over her chair; they must be thirteen, judging by their appearances.

"Did you see Serena today? I'm pretty sure she still wears a training bra," Memory Caroline snickers, taking a sip of her milkshake.

"Caroline! Who even notices that stuff?" Memory Elena replies, a somewhat disapproving look on her face and Memory Caroline rolls her eyes.

"Don't be so lame, Elena. It was so obvious, what do you expect?"

"I just don't think you need to point it out, Serena's nice, there's no need to talk about her like that."

"Maybe we should talk about something else," Memory Bonnie pipes up hastily, watching her two friends with uncertainty.

"Yeah, okay. Hey, Isn't your birthday coming up in...a couple weeks now, right?"

"How old are you guys?" Damon asks quietly, and Bonnie jumps slightly, having forgotten he's right beside her.

She's a little too wrapped up in the bittersweet nostalgia of this particular memory, back when her worst problem had been handing in her assignments on time. She misses when it used to be just her, Elena and Caroline; they weren't being bombarded with a bunch of supernatural problems, and they were all alive, enjoying their lives like any normal teenage girl. Their innocence is almost reassuring, but also seems somewhat foolish when Bonnie thinks about where they all are today.

"I think we were thirteen," Bonnie replies, watching M.C. rant excitedly about birthday plans, saying something about a sleepover and rom coms.

"-would be so fun, don't you think? What do you say, Bon?" M.C. exclaims, her hands tucked under her chin excitedly with shining eyes.

"Yeah, that would be nice," M.B. smiles, careful not to show her braces and Bonnie can't help but smile fondly. She'd hated her braces at that age, always careful to never show them but looking back it's almost comical.

"Do you have anything planned with your dad, Bonnie?" M.E. asks carefully, smoothing out her hair and M.B.'s smile fades slightly.

"I'm not sure, he's really busy with work, he's in Memphis right now. He'll probably call soon to talk about it, though...Grams said she'd celebrate with me, bake a cake and we'd watch a movie," M.B. answers, trying not to sound too dejected.

"Isn't your Grams into voodoo stuff or something?" M.C. chimes in, dipping her finger into the whipped cream of the milkshake.

"No, it's just our family history that she's into. Just because she's an occult studies professor, doesn't mean she's into anything voodoo or witchy," M.B. says defensively, and M.C. shrugs.

"Okay then, whatever you say, Bonnie. Also, did you guys see Sean Tran today?! Omigod, he looked so…"

Bonnie turns away from her younger self and her friends, about to walk towards the door but Damon stops her.

"That's it?" he asks, his brow furrowed.

"There's nothing else to see, Damon," Bonnie responds patiently, tilting her head up to look up at him. "The memory's done, I can feel it."

"But it didn't even show us anything important! How do you know, maybe we missed something! Where would we go, anyway?!"

"You really think we should stay here?! We're invisible here, at least back at the house we're not like ghosts. This isn't actually real, none of this is, it already happened. And I can't rewind the memory, Damon. I don't know what I was meant to see, but it's done now."

"That can't be it!"

"And it isn't! They're going to come back just like last time, except it'll be something different. The more time we waste here, the more time until the next memory. These are leading to something, I know it."

"Yeah? And what if you're wrong, judgy?"

"Does it matter? We have nothing better to do! Don't deny it, this isn't a coincidence, these memories aren't appearing just for fun and we're in this place for a reason."

"Well, you could be leading us right into a trap!"

"Damon, there's no one here! You said it yourself a thousand times, WE'RE ALONE. What exactly is the worst case scenario here?! If you want to believe this is a trap, FINE. But you don't have to come along for the ride, and I already told you, you can't stop me either," Bonnie asserts sternly, and Damon runs a hand over his face frustratedly. She can feel it, these memories mean something, it isn't over. If anything, something has begun and she's dead set on figuring out what it all means.

"You know, I think there's a slight possibility that I did miss the turn to the drugstore," Damon admits after a few moments, and Bonnie rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, I figured. Come on, let's go."

* * *

"Did you pick something?" Damon calls loudly, scooping up some spaghetti onto a plate for Bonnie.

"Yes, I did!" Bonnie replies from the living room, and he can hear the click of the CD player as she puts in something to watch on the TV. Since cable doesn't exist here, they've had to rely on DVDs to actually provide some entertainment for a few hours.

Damon picks up the two dinner plates, walking over to the living room where Bonnie is seated on the couch, "What did you pick to watch?"

"It's a surprise," she answers gravely, but it looks like she's trying not to smile, which is surely a bad sign. Damon hands Bonnie her dinner plate, sitting down on the couch and watches as she presses play.

"Of course you picked this one," Damon sighs dramatically, watching the short recap of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode.

"I thought it might make you feel more at home," she teases, settling back on the couch and begins digging into her spaghetti. "Just be glad I didn't pick Twilight, Buffy is much cooler anyway."

Damon rolls his eyes, focusing back on the Buffy episode. Seeing the vampires in this show is always so odd, they look more like aliens than humans and a demon possessing them? That's the best idea that the writers could come up with? It sounds kind of ridiculous, but it's better than sparkling in the sun. The characters have more personality, Buffy is much more interesting than bland Bella Swan; Angel can be a wet blanket, in fact he reminds Damon a little of Stefan but his alter ego, Angelus is too chaotic. What good is it trying to end the world? But Spike is definitely the charmer, no question about it, but Damon isn't a fan of the bleached hair look; the one style from the 90s that he prefers to ignore, and the british accent is pretty obnoxious.

"Can you believe Spike and Buffy actually teamed up? He could've defeated Angelus by himself," Damon scowls, taking a bite of his dinner while watching Buffy and Spike talk.

"Angelus is stronger though, and who else would back up Spike? Drusilla is clearly on Angelus's side, she's not as loyal to Spike," Bonnie points out through a mouthful of spaghetti.

Damon can't but think of Elena, and how she'd swung back and forth between him and Stefan; always hesitating to choose, unsure of how to make her pick of the two men that would do anything for her. It wasn't until three weeks after the 20s Decade Dance, Elena had pulled him aside and told him gently that her choice was Stefan. He couldn't lie, deep down he'd seen it coming but that hadn't made it hurt any less.

Once she'd finally confirmed that Stefan was the one for her, their love towards each other had only become stronger and Damon knew that there was no questioning it anymore. Elena's mind had been made up. Damon had been planning to leave town, he hadn't been planning on telling Stefan until he was already out of town; Stefan had made it clear that Damon didn't have to leave after Elena had chosen, but Damon thought it was better for the two of them if he left entirely. Of course, those plans had gotten sidetracked a week later.

It's like any of that matters anymore. He does believe that these memories do mean something, but it's a real possibility that they're stuck here forever too. He isn't even a vampire anymore, his biological timer has already started right back up again. It's nearly two months in this place, and those memories aren't an everyday occurrence. It could be a year, possibly longer until they figure out why they're revisiting Bonnie's memories.

Damon focuses back on Buffy, pushing away his thoughts and lets his mind focus back on the mind-numbing activity of watching TV. The more he focuses on everything that seems lost, the more he wishes he has a humanity switch to turn it all off.

* * *

Bonnie stumbles into Damon's room, not bothering to knock; he's been sleeping in one of the guestrooms while she sleeps in the master bedroom, so of course he'd chosen the second largest room. It's a nice bedroom with white furniture and navy walls, but she doesn't dwell on it and picks up a pillow, whacking Damon on the head and waits impatiently. Damon jolts awake, sitting up in bed slowly and rubs his eyes a little, glaring at Bonnie.

"Sorry," she says, not sounding sorry at all. "I hear them again...are you coming?"

"Yeah...could I at least get dressed?" Damon asks, gesturing to his shirtless chest.

"Just a shirt, but don't go looking for your jacket or anything. Come on, before they disappear," Bonnie trails out of the room, she can hear Damon following while slipping on a shirt. They walk downstairs, Bonnie opening the door and looks straight ahead. "That house right across from us. That's where we're going."

"So close?"

"I don't make the rules."

They make their way across the street, the front door swinging open unprovoked and they step inside. Bonnie takes in the striped couch and the scattered toys, along with a woman pacing nervously in the front room; Bonnie quickly recognizes the woman as a younger version of her Grams.

"Do you recognize this memory?" Damon asks quietly, and Bonnie blinks, remembering that Damon is still here as well.

"Um...I'm not sure, it must be a really old one. I mean, this doll," Bonnie goes to pick it up, but her hand sweeps through like she's a ghost. "Well, I had this when I was really young, I barely remember it."

The doorbell rings, and Memory Grams goes to get it; Bonnie and Damon move to watch the scene unfold, peeking at the door as M.G. opens it. Bonnie immediately recognizes the two little girls as herself and Elena, hand in hand with a younger version of Elena's mom, Miranda. Bonnie smiles sadly, she'd always liked Miranda, who'd always been more than happy to let Bonnie stay over when her dad was gone for work.

"Miranda, thank you so much for taking Bonnie home," M.G. says kindly, smiling but it doesn't reach her eyes. Memory Bonnie looks a little confused staring up at M.G., but steps into the house anyway and slips off her shoes.

"Of course, it was no trouble. Just so you know, anything you need, I'll be here," Memory Miranda replies soothingly. "Say goodbye to Bonnie, Elena."

"Bye Bonnie! See you tomorrow!" Memory Elena exclaims, her braids swinging as she waves exuberantly and M.B. returns the wave with a toothy grin; M.G. waves to Memory Miranda, exchanging goodbyes and shuts the door quietly.

"Grams, where's mommy? I made a drawing in school today, I wanted to show her! I put me, mommy, daddy and miss cuddles in it! Oh, and I got some stickers too!" M.B. squeals, hopping around energetically and M.G. gives her a sad smile.

"Grams needs to tell you something, sweet girl. Let's sit down," M.G. leads M.B. to the couch, sitting down and fixes M.B. with a calm look. "It's about your mommy...mommy had to leave."

"Oh, how come?" M.B. asks, her eyes wide with curiosity and M.G. releases a controlled sigh. Bonnie's stomach drops, feeling nauseous all of a sudden and she's beginning to realize which memory this is.

"I...she said she had to do something important, but she's going to be gone for a very long time," M.G. replies carefully, observing M.B. closely.

"Oh…" M.B. looks down at the couch, picking at the fabric. "So when will I see mommy again?"

"I don't know...but she loves you very much, she just had to go."

Bonnie can't stop the bitter feeling growing in her throat; if her mom really loved her, she would've stayed. It's a shitty way to leave someone, telling them you love them but going all the same. She still doesn't know why her mom left, and she can't imagine what reason would suffice for abandoning your own family.

"Okay...can I have a snack, grams?" M.B. asks quietly, a vacant expression on her face. Bonnie can't blame her younger self for being so casual, she barely understood anything that happened after her mom left but it hurts all the same.

"Of course, what do you feel like?" M.G. gets up, grabbing M.B.'s hand and leads her to the kitchen. Bonnie's bottom lip is trembling, trying not to let her emotions spill over and she's acutely aware that Damon is right beside her.

Bonnie's had years to come to terms with her mom leaving, she thought she made her peace with it but having to witness the moment when she'd learned that her mom had left has unsettled Bonnie, settling uncomfortably beneath her skin. Why is she upset over the mother she never knew? She shouldn't care, people leave all the time, it's a natural part of everyone's lives. But still, it upsets her all the same and for the first time in a long time, Bonnie can't help but wonder why she wasn't enough for her mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, kudos and comments are appreciated!


	4. CHAPTER 3: Only You Know the Way That I Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter name is from the song "idontwannabeyouanymore" by Billie Eilish. Happy reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- There's going to be a wedding in this chapter; I basically copied what you always hear in wedding ceremonies from movies/TV shows, probably not 100% accurate lol
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

Damon glances covertly at Bonnie again, noticing that she's tucking a shaky hand under her thigh, taking another sip of coffee. He doesn't want to stare, he knows that she'll start asking questions and getting defensive; he suspects that she hasn't been sleeping for the past few nights, she always looks tired in the mornings and he can vaguely hear someone moving around the house at night.

He won't press the issue, not yet anyway. If Bonnie isn't going to admit that she's becoming an insomniac, then Damon won't have much luck confronting her about it. He'll have to employ other methods of getting her to sleep, he isn't going to lose his only source of human contact to something as lame as a lack of rest.

"Here you go, my world-famous pancakes," Damon winks, sliding over a plate with a pancake in the middle, blueberries arranged to make a face with whipped cream as the fangs.

"Hilarious," Bonnie replies in a deadpan voice, grabbing a fork and takes a bite. "These aren't half bad."

"Wow, try not to flatter me too much," Damon stacks a couple pancakes on his plate, dousing them in syrup. "If we were back in Mystic Falls, back in _my_ kitchen, I guarantee I would have you blown away."

"Yeah? What makes you so confident?"

"You clearly have not tried white truffles."

"Sorry, I was too busy trying to defeat whatever supernatural villain came to Mystic Falls. I think I was too busy coming up with plans to save everyone to bother scheduling a breakfast with you."

Damon rolls his eyes, choosing to ignore her snarky comment, "If we do get out, and that's a hard if, then I'll make them for you, and you'll have to grovel at my feet with apologies."

"Yeah, okay, keep dreaming," Bonnie smiles, adjusting her robe and takes another sip of her coffee. "I think I've noticed a pattern with the memories, but I don't know if it's actually accurate or not."

"What is it?"

"They all seem to be going backwards...like, the first memory I had was not too long ago, then the next was when I was thirteen, then four. The memories are older and older, but I'm not sure what it means for the next one. It could be me as a baby, or maybe when I was born?"

"Maybe the memories will stop once we get to when you were born."

"Yeah, that's true, but I don't know," Bonnie shakes her head, "it only feels more intense every time they come, but it doesn't feel like anything's ending, it doesn't even feel close."

"You don't know for sure."

"Yeah, that's true. I guess we'll have to wait and see, won't we?"

* * *

**2 MONTHS**

* * *

"Ain't no valley high enough, to keep me from coming to you babe," Bonnie sings along softly under her breath to the music, reading a Marvin Gaye record as the sunlight shines into the living room. She fumbles around for her bowl of grapes, grabbing one and popping it into her mouth when Damon comes into the room, book in hand.

"Are you eating? I'm going to be making lunch soon, you know," Damon scowls, sitting down on the couch and Bonnie rolls her eyes.

"Relax, Gordon Ramsay, it's a small bowl. What are you reading?"

"Nothing," Damon sits down on the couch, careful to not let Bonnie see the cover.

"Are you reading smut, or a harlequin novel? I won't judge you, it makes sense that you would read them since there's no one here for you to seduce."

"No one at all?" Damon smirks mischievously, and Bonnie scoffs.

"Definitely no one at all. Reading smut is the only way you're getting any action."

"Well, I'm not reading smut so no luck there. It's just a really lame, old book."

"Don't tell me it's your autobiography."

"That one is still in the works, no this is a different one."

Bonnie switches out the record for another, half-waiting for a response but Damon starts reading. An Aretha Franklin song comes on, Bonnie hums along to the words as she keeps looking through the vinyl records; one bonus about the house they're in is that there's a record player with a whole collection of vinyl records, featuring songs that she loves to listen to. Bonnie's not the only person enjoying the music, if Damon tapping his foot along to the rhythm is any indication.

She's about to switch out the record again, deciding to listen to Bohemian Rhapsody instead when she hears the whispers again. "They're back."

"Are you ready?"

"Of course I am."

She gets up from the floor of the living room, walking to the front door and Damon follows behind her. She steps outside, looking around before spotting a wedding chapel and lets out a startled laugh; it looks like a poor imitation of a Vegas chapel with a small fountain spouting water, and a cherub on top. She walks towards the chapel, a confused smile on her face; it's kind of absurd to see a wedding chapel just in the middle of a neighbourhood, but she has no idea what memory she's going to end up watching.

It definitely has to be an older memory, going to a wedding would've been something she'd have to have heard about when she got older. They walk up to the doors, waltzing inside and into the quiet lobby; Bonnie can hear voices in the main room, noticing a couple jackets on hangers. Bonnie goes up to the wide doors, peeking inside and spots a priest with a bride and groom, one person sitting in the front row.

"Do you recognize the memory?" Damon asks quietly from behind her, following her into the room and down the aisle.

"No, but these people...they look familiar," Bonnie squints slightly as they approach the bride and groom, noticing a protruding baby bump on the bride. "Hold on…"

"This woman looks a lot like...oh."

"This is the day my parents got married," Bonnie states slowly, taking in her parents' radiant faces and the way their eyes seem drawn to each other. Her dad looks so happy, there are no visible wrinkles or frown lines on his face and the way he's staring at her mom, it's so foreign to Bonnie; her heart cracks a little, realizing that she's never actually seen her dad like this before.

She turns her attention to her mom, taking in the same green eyes and smile that they both share. Grams always said they looked alike, but Bonnie didn't really have any photos to see the comparison. Her mom looks so in love, smiling so widely and bursting with excitement but all Bonnie wants to do is scream at her. How could her mom look like this, act this way but leave them anyway. What had changed, why didn't she stay?

"Do you, Abby Joanne Bennett, take Rudy Andrew Hopkins to be your lawful wedded husband?" the priest asks.

"I do," her mom grins, her eyes on Bonnie's dad and Bonnie wants to yell liar in her face, but she won't hear her. She'll never get to hear Bonnie say anything, there will never be a chance to yell at her mom, or even to forgive her.

"And do you, Rudy Andrew Hopkins, take Abby Joanne Bennett to be your lawful wedded wife?"

"I do."

"Then by the power vested in me by the state of Virginia, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride," the priest smiles, and Bonnie watches as they kiss, effectively sealing their already-doomed fate.

"This isn't your memory, is it?" Damon asks quietly, and Bonnie looks at him, suddenly remembering he's been a witness to everything.

"No, it's not," she responds, her voice stark.

This isn't going to help Bonnie's sleeping issue at all, if anything it'll probably make things worse. Even worse, Damon is now a witness to the memory too. The only saving grace is that he hasn't brought up the past memories they've seen, doesn't try to press the issue which she's grateful for, but it doesn't make the situation any less shitty. For the past few nights, ever since she'd seen the memory of the day when her Mom had left, she's barely slept. It had just thrown her off, that one stupid, insipid moment when she'd learned that the people you loved could leave you. It was almost humiliating, the fact that Bonnie can remember all the moments in her childhood where she felt confused and lonely but not the one moment that set it all off.

**VPVPVPVPVP**

Bonnie sighs, patting her wet face gently with a washcloth. She's certain it'll be another sleepless night, she could get through another crossword puzzle or read a book, maybe even go for a walk; it's not like she's at risk of being attacked (unless she counts her homicidal roommate). Technically, she can even walk to the nearest gas station and make herself a slushie; she walks out of her bathroom, contemplating what kind of slushie she can make for herself when she notices someone else is in the room, or more accurately, in her bed.

"This is my room," Bonnie says dumbly, and Damon gives her a wry grin.

"I'm well aware of that, but thank you for letting me know."

" _I mean_ , get out. I'm going to-"

"Oh, don't say sleep, because we both know you're not doing that."

Bonnie can't help but stare, a little flabbergasted not by the boldness, but rather the fact that he has noticed her sleepless nights and seems to be doing something about it. On one hand, it's kind of nice that he's bothered enough to care, but on the other, she doesn't appreciate him butting into her business.

"I'll go to sleep if you leave."

"Nice try, I'm not falling for that."

"Fine, I'll just go stay in another room."

"I locked the other bedrooms, and hid the key. If you want to sleep downstairs, I'd be happy to join."

"You're insufferable."

"Thank you for the comment, but it sounds like someone's cranky. They could use a good night's rest."

Bonnie stands there for a moment, contemplating her options, "You're not going to leave me alone, are you?"

"Nope. If you plan on staying up all night, I'll be there to wear you down."

Yup, that definitely does not sound good at all. Bonnie gets into bed, glowering pointedly at Damon as he watches her serenely with an infuriatingly triumphant look, and briefly contemplates whacking him with a pillow, just to see him scowl.

"You should know, I have a habit of kicking and punching in my sleep."

"I'll take my chances."

Bonnie shifts to face away from Damon, still feeling particularly vexed and determined to wait until _he_ falls asleep. Damon isn't a vampire anymore, he has a human's tolerance and she can wait him out. Maybe it'll be just half an hour or longer, but she can do it. It's just a matter of waiting.

* * *

"According to this magazine quiz, I need to stop being a damsel in distress," Bonnie snorts, flipping through some teenybopper magazine. "You should take it, I wanna see what it says for you."

"Ahem, I'm too busy trying to find some laundry detergent and toilet paper."

"Sometimes you act like such an old man, but then I remember that you are one, so it makes even more sense to me," Bonnie retorts, and Damon rolls his eyes. She never fails to bring up his age, always finding some way to insinuate he's a senior citizen. "You know, I think it might be December soon."

"Really? Shit, I can't believe it's been that long."

Bonnie's about to open her mouth to respond, but shuts up abruptly and looks around the aisle, "Looks like our shopping is going to get sidetracked. Come on, I hear them."

They leave their shopping cart where it is, Damon following Bonnie through the store; every time she hears them, when she starts walking it's like she's under a trance. It seems like reality starts slipping away for her when the memories start calling her. Damon wishes he had more ideas as to why this was happening and why only Bonnie can hear these voices or whatever, but nothing in the past couple months has made much sense anyway. Bonnie starts walking towards the staff doors, and Damon swears he can hear the thumping bass of music; he follows Bonnie through the doors, his eyes widening in surprise as he realizes they're in a nightclub. But the shock wears off after a moment, he shouldn't really even have had any expectations as to what they were going to be witnessing.

"Okay, this is definitely not my memory," Bonnie frowns, surveying the room and Damon realizes she didn't even have to raise her voice, he can hear her perfectly fine over the loud music. Just another part of the weird logic behind these memories and the way they work. "Maybe we should walk around, try to see why we're here or who we're meant to see."

Damon nods, moving around the room and bopping his head to the music; he can't help but smirk at everyone's outfits, they're all ridiculous and exaggerated which probably means it's the 70s or 80s. Bonnie suddenly tugs on his arm, pointing in the distance.

"What?"

"Over there...I think I saw my parents," Bonnie replies, stepping into the crowd and making her way across the dance floor. Damon goes after her, squeezing by people even though he won't even bump into them; Bonnie approaches the club's bar, staring at two people who are trying to talk over the loud music.

Damon can see the resemblance clearly between Bonnie and her mom, even with the large perm and blue eyeshadow. Damon's never seen Bonnie's dad, he doesn't know whether it should be a shock for Bonnie to see her dad look so young, but the parachute pants and baggy sweater should be enough of a surprise.

"I'm majoring in economics...ECONOMICS!" Abby yells in Rudy's ear, smiling a little with flushed cheeks.

"THAT'S GREAT! Did you, uh…" Rudy trails off, looking a little bashful and Abby leans in a little closer.

"WHAT? SORRY, I CAN'T HEAR YOU. DID YOU WANNA DANCE?"

"SURE!"

They watch Bonnie's parents retreat to the dance floor, looking extremely nervous and at the same time giddy with excitement.

"Wow, so your parents are nerds, huh?" Damon remarks, smirking a little.

"Shut up, they were nervous. It must be a first date or something," Bonnie replies dismissively, bopping her head along to the music and she's tapping her foot along to the music.

"Well, they're really killing it on the dance floor," Damon points out sarcastically, gesturing to the awkward dance moves Rudy's doing and Abby's clearly rehearsed dance moves. "How did a cheerleader come from two people with no rhythm?"

Bonnie actually smiles at the comment, "It's not like you're not that great of a dancer either."

"Now that is a bold-faced lie. I remember the Sixties Decade Dance, I was a much better dancer than little Gilbert and his depressing moves. You know that I was much more smooth than him, at least I wasn't so robotic with my dancing."

Bonnie laughs, "Keep dreaming, Damon."

* * *

**2 ¼ MONTHS**

* * *

"Hey, you've been at it for two hours, you know you can take a break, right?" Bonnie hands Damon a cup of lemonade, examining the TV he's trying to install to the wall. "It's not like it needs to be installed tonight."

"I have the time, the sooner the better," Damon grunts, installing another screw into the wall. He's forgotten how much of a sweat people can break as humans, especially when doing something as mundane as installing a TV.

"We can always just watch The Bodyguard downstairs in the living room, it's not like we need to watch it up here."

"And not be able to watch it in the comfort of a bed, or fall asleep halfway like old people? I don't think so."

Damon has been adamant that they would benefit from having a TV in the master bedroom, choosing to lug it from a nearby Target; apparently it would make it more comfortable if they could watch TV from the comfort of their bed. Bonnie's been sleeping a lot better for the past week, but she hasn't bothered to kick Damon out of her room. In all honesty, she likes the feeling of someone sleeping next to her, knowing that she's not alone in this strange world is comforting and Damon's presence makes her sleep better. Of course, she'll never tell him that. She's _not_ going to admit that she liked sleeping in the same bed as Damon.

"Uh, there's only one old person here, and it's definitely not me," Bonnie smiles at Damon's scowl, continuing, "Also, I think it's going to be Christmas soon, like maybe next week."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Technically I'm not, but we've been here what, a little over two months?"

"So, what, you want to celebrate? Cut down a little tree, exchange presents, sing some Christmas carols?" Damon raises an eyebrow, and Bonnie shrugs.

"It would be nice, Mr. Scrooge. It would give us a break from our normal routine, might as well try to make the best of a somewhat shitty situation. I'll do the cooking and you can bake whatever you'd like. I'll even make some spiked eggnog."

Damon looks pretty skeptical, probably about to say no; Bonnie puts her hands on her hips, giving him a fierce look, and he sighs, "Ugh, fine, okay, we'll celebrate but only because I want that spiked eggnog. You know, I could even get you a present too, keep up with the Christmas spirit."

"Nothing to do with clothes or lingerie, Damon."

"Well then I won't get you a present."

"That's fine with me."

* * *

"This quiz has me totally wrong, I am not a blurt-it-out babe or whatever this lame magazine says," Damon scowls, feeling particularly annoyed as Bonnie tries to stifle her giggles.

"Oh, so you think you're a careful cutie, hmm?" Bonnie teases, still laughing a little as she takes back the magazine. "The magazine doesn't lie, Damon."

"Take out the careful part and then I agree. Everything else is a lie," Damon adjusts his pillow, lying back down in bed as Bonnie shifts next to him.

He's still sleeping in the same bed as her, always careful to make sure she's actually sleeping even though it's been a week. Technically, he should be back in his room since Bonnie's sleeping again, but her bed is more comfortable, and the master bedroom has all the men's clothes, which makes it easier to get changed. Even sharing a bathroom works out well, with Bonnie taking showers at night and him in the morning; surprisingly, she hasn't protested or even said anything about him staying, only choosing to throw most of the pillows off the bed because it's apparently too crowded.

"Right, of course," Bonnie yawns, her voice soft. "Maybe we should get a Christmas tree, I'm sure I could find some decorations, or I can just make them, I could even make a star."

"How do you plan on making a star? It's not like you have your magic to put one together."

"Uh, haven't you ever heard of tinfoil, paper and scissors? You know, in kindergarten class where you'd make an ornament for...nevermind, I just remembered that you're ancient and never did that stuff."

"You're the one letting an ancient person sleep in the same bed as you."

"I like to think it's like an old lady is sleeping beside me," Bonnie says lazily, slurring her words a little and he can hear the smile in her voice. "I bet you've never heard that from a girl in the same bed as you."

"You're clearly delirious from being so tired. Go to sleep, Bon Bon."

"I'm not on board with that nickname."

"Hush, go to bed."

"Wait...ugh, I hear them."

"You're kidding...this is like having an annoying kid that's sick and keeps calling for you. Can't it wait until the morning?"

Bonnie's already out of bed, slipping on her robe with her back facing him, "You don't have to come, I'll be fine by myself if you want to sleep."

Damon lays in bed for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should go; as much as he'd like to sleep right now, he doesn't like the idea of Bonnie going off by herself. He'll just end up worried, laying wide awake until she comes back anyway. "No, no, I'm coming."

Damon gets out of bed, following Bonnie down the stairs and out the door. Bonnie gasps suddenly, stumbling back into him and Damon uses his hands to steady her; he looks up at the Mystic Falls City Hall right across the street from them, looking a lot more clean and nicer than it normally was. They walked up the steps, opening the front doors and Damon eyes the scene in the lobby before him. There are people scattered all around the lobby sitting down, some of them chanting and others talking while police officers eyed them suspiciously. Damon glances around the room, taking in the bohemian outfits most were wearing and the decor of the lobby; it must've been a sit-in protest, most likely for the Vietnam War.

"We're not going anywhere!" a girl yells defiantly, followed by choruses of agreements and cheers. Damon glances at Bonnie, noticing she's staring curiously at the same girl.

"What is it?" Damon asks.

"I...I think that's my Grams," Bonnie answers quietly, walking slowly towards the girl.

"How do you know?"

"Well...she had a couple photos of herself, and I know she participated in sit-ins when she was really young. It looks like her," Bonnie smiles, staring intently at a young Sheila Bennett. She doesn't notice when a police officer walks over, his eyes on Sheila and grabs her arm.

"This is a peaceful protest! You can't remove me!" Sheila cries angrily as the police officer tries to lift her up, and Bonnie tries to push the police officer away but her hands just slip through like a ghost.

"Remember, this already happened," Damon says to Bonnie gently, when someone else comes into view, releasing the police officer's hands from Sheila.

Damon breathes in sharply, feeling light-headed as he stares at his brother, who's just helped Sheila from getting pulled away from the protest. Damon watches Stefan turn to the police officer, quietly compelling him and Sheila sits back down, other people shifting to pat her and ask if she's alright; Stefan releases the police officer, who signals to the other officers that everything's okay and Stefan turns to look down at Sheila with a kind smile.

"Thank you for your help," Sheila says, gazing at Stefan curiously. "What did you say to him?"

"Ah, nothing important, I have a relative here that works for city hall so you know, the officer doesn't want to get fired for excessive force, since you're within your right to protest."

"Right. I'm Sheila Bennett, I'm one of the leaders in the Anti-War Mystic Falls Union. I don't think I've ever seen you around here."

"I'm just visiting town for awhile, I'm kind of new here. I'm Stefan Salvatore, it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. You should consider coming to one of our meetings, this may be a small town, but that doesn't mean there isn't work to do. Even the smallest drop of water can still create ripples, we're always looking for more people to join our cause."

"I'll think about it, thank you for the offer. I look forward to what your union will achieve, you're very brave to be advocating for change," Stefan bends down a little, holding out a hand for Sheila to shake. Sheila smiles, reaching to shake his hand and her eyes widen in mistrust as soon she touches Stefan's hand, now looking at him with a wary expression. Sheila has clearly sensed that Stefan is a vampire, and most likely a dangerous one considering the past couple decades.

"Nice to meet you too, Stefan," she replies slowly, releasing his hand and watches Stefan walk away with a slightly confused smile and nod.

Damon tries to follow after his brother, desperate to keep the memory alive and see Stefan for a little longer but as soon as he stepped outside, he's back in the streets of their neighbourhood. He stands there unmoving, staring at the house he can never seem to escape; he hears Bonnie's soft footsteps, and feels her come up beside him.

"I miss them too," she says tentatively in a soft voice, patting his arm lightly. He shut his eyes for a moment, feeling exhausted again and the two of them trudge their way back into the house.

* * *

"Hey Care," Elena says, sitting down at their group's usual lunch table.

"Hey! I wanted to ask you about something," Caroline responds, taking a bite of her salad, "Have you talked to Bonnie lately? I've been emailing and texting her, but I don't know...something about her messages feel off. Is it just me? It's like she's avoiding stuff or hiding things from me...am I just crazy?"

Elena frowns thoughtfully, taking out her lunch, "No, I've noticed that she can be pretty vague in her messages, some of the stuff she says...it's not exactly like her. You know what's weird too? I can never seem to call her, I only ever message her."

"Omigod, same!" Caroline exclaims, but instead she just seems more concerned, "But if we can never actually reach her...do we really know if she's alright?"

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Stefan asks, joining them along with Matt.

"Bonnie, actually. We've been messaging with her, but we haven't actually talked to her on the phone. Have either of you guys really talked to her?"

"No, actually, I've just been texting her," Matt responds, "That's kind of weird, Bonnie would definitely talk to us, she's been gone for awhile."

"You know what's odd, is that Damon left town around the same time that Bonnie did," Stefan points out, looking thoughtful, "The last time we talked face-to-face, he said something about going to Bonnie's...I haven't heard anything from him, just that he went to New York."

"But it's Damon, he had every reason to leave...sorry," Caroline adds, before continuing, "Damon and Bonnie don't even like each other, I doubt they're even together."

"I don't know, Stefan might have a point," Elena chimes in, "Damon barely even took anything to New York, and why would Bonnie leave right when things have calmed down? I don't know, there's something off about this situation."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can tell, this story is going back to moments in time where black people were mistreated and discriminated against. For those who don't know, I'm Canadian so I'm not as educated in US history or culture; I'm consulting the internet to research certain time periods in the US and how they affected black people specifically, but even then I could be reading inaccurate info. So, if there's something wrong with a scene I wrote, something needs a rewrite, changing a certain term etc. PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I don't want to misrepresent the past experiences or the history of black women.
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading, comments and kudos are appreciated! Any thoughts on who's texting all of Bonnie's friends?


	5. CHAPTER 4: Dream a Little Dream of Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from the song "Fuck it I love you" by Lana Del Rey. Happy reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Why did i think the Mystic Grill had an E in it this whole time...well, it looks better with the E so I'm not changing it lol
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

"Couldn't sleep and wouldn't sleep, when love came and told me I shouldn't sleep," Bonnie sings along to Ella Fitzgerald, working on another popcorn and cranberry garland for the Christmas tree.

"Every time I find you, it seems like you're singing," Bonnie looks up to Damon watching her with a smirk, but his voice is teasing rather than malicious. "You call me old, yet you listen to songs like these."

"Okay, first of all, don't act like you don't enjoy them too. Second of all, these are good songs, they're classics! I used to listen to them a lot when I was younger, Grams would play singers like Fitzgerald and Sinatra all the time," Bonnie takes a sip of her wine, eliciting a dramatic gasp from Damon and she gives him a look, caught between amusement and annoyance.

"Are you actually drinking, Bennett?"

"I thought I'd indulge a little, let you take a break from all the drinking you've done. God knows you need it since you're human."

"Ouch, that one almost hurt my human heart."

Bonnie rolls her eyes, trying to not to smile, "Here, put this garland on the tree. You're taller than me anyway."

Bonnie watches Damon walk around the tree, hanging the garland on branches and bites the inside of her cheek to stop herself from grinning amusedly. It's a very strange sight, watching Damon do something as ordinary as Christmas tree decorating; she's seen him fight, get tortured, aggressively argue with pretty much everyone but watching him engage in a holiday activity is a change for Bonnie, albeit a funny and strange one.

"What did you do for Christmas back in the 1800s? It must've been pretty different back then compared to now," Bonnie inquires, taking another small sip from her wineglass and Damon shrugs dismissively.

"I don't know, it wasn't really all that interesting. We'd sing stupid carols on Christmas Eve and had to attend church on Christmas, which was boring. Me and Stefan would go out to play in the snow all afternoon, or we'd play with our new presents until someone would call us back inside, usually for a hot chocolate and then we'd have Christmas dinner. We were just like any other family, really, nothing special."

"I dunno, that sounds pretty nice to me," Bonnie comments, sounding almost wistful. Besides the fact that Christmases are usually a small and quiet affair for her and her dad, she really wanted a sibling when she was younger, even after her mom had left but obviously she didn't understand how to get one back then. She used to watch Elena with Jeremy when she was younger, noticing how they would play together and the way he'd follow her around happily, it sounded pretty nice at the time to have someone always around to play and hang out with.

"That's exactly what an only child would say."

"What made you think I was talking about having a sibling?" Bonnie smiles, pretending to look confused and Damon turns away sharply to hide his face from view.

It's classic Damon, avoiding and denying; she's seen it many times before, not that she really cares at this point. She gets it, it's easier for him not to confront his feelings, especially since they've been in this ghost town for more than two months. It dawns on Bonnie that her and Damon could be considered friends now.

Still, that doesn't mean she's ready to declare it or make him friendship bracelets; she hasn't forgotten who Damon is, or what he's done, it would be incredibly idiotic of her to ignore his beyond fucked-up past but she knows him now. He's still annoying as hell, but she knows that he likes his coffee with cream but no sugar, and he secretly loves the Bodyguard even though he complains every time she puts it on. She knows that he likes alternative music the best, old or new and the books he's been secretly reading are probably from his childhood, since he never likes to talk about his life before vampirism. She knows that the reason why he runs and exercises everyday is because he doesn't want to lose his strength or the youth that his immortality gave him.

It's not like she wants to know all these tiny details about Damon, but it's different in this world. There's no one to fight, no one to kill and no one to save. There's only him and her, and the house they live in. It's true, there's no guarantee that they're getting out of whatever this place is and Bonnie does want to go home, but their little routine isn't so bad. This house has become something akin to a haven for Bonnie, she feels safer here than she ever did back at her home in Mystic Falls.

* * *

**2 ½ MONTHS**

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" Damon calls jokingly, slipping off his shoes and walks down the hallway to see Bonnie stretched out on the couch, glowering at the crossword puzzle book.

"What's the capital of Lithuania? I couldn't find an Atlas around here, and if you don't know, I'm literally going to drive to a bookstore just to find the answer," Bonnie asks, her brow furrowed as she stares down at the book, looking resentful. Damon's almost surprised to see that look again, he's been on the receiving end of that look of hers like that a million times, but lately it hasn't been around all that much.

"I think it's Vilinius," Damon replies, walking over to the kitchen to get some water.

"Thank you!" Bonnie chirps happily, writing down the word and she flips to the next page of the book. Damon takes a sip of his water, before going to sit down in the living room with her.

"I've been thinking about the memories we've been seeing. They're all connected back to you, or more accurately, the Bennett family, right?"

"Yeah, that seems to be the case."

"Well it's definitely revolving specifically around the Bennett women. Even the male members aren't always around, so it must go back to one of your ancestors."

"Did you have anyone in mind? Emily seems to be a bit of a stretch, unless she hid a lot more than we thought."

"Emily's magic was a lot more direct and straightforward. If she wanted us to find someone, she wouldn't have played any type of games like this, or at least it wouldn't have dragged out this long. Maybe it could be connected to the Originals."

"Klaus? Maybe, but I don't see what he would gain from putting us here. Him and Elena came to an agreement about the hybrids, he already has what he wants. I'm human, I doubt this place is going to help me unlock some new superpower."

Damon knows that Bonnie has stopped trying to practice her magic a while ago, now that the memories have popped up and Damon supposes she wants to give them her full attention instead. After all, her magic has never showed any signs of working, but at least these memories possibly offer some sort of answer.

"I don't think he should be ruled out, who knows what that creep is up to right now. He's an Original, he's used to plotting and scheming for centuries."

"Okay, fine, we'll keep him on the list...actually, um, what if you weren't meant to come along?"

"What?"

"All these memories are related to me, right? Maybe you weren't meant to be there, at my house, because my dad was gone for the weekend, I'd already finished with my plans for the day so no one else was supposed to show up. _I_ didn't even know you were going to show up."

"If that's true," Damon concludes slowly, "then you would've been alone here, stuck all by yourself."

Bonnie looks surprised, before shrugging and nodded dismissively, filling in another part of her crossword, "Yeah, maybe, I mean who knows if you being here actually changed anything."

Damon frowns, a little off-put by her relaxed attitude, "You could've been alone here for months, isolated without any way to actually talk to someone."

"But I'm not, you're here, so there's no point in obsessing over it. Look, there's no one around to hurt or kill us, you're not showing any signs of dying and neither am I. We're fine. If anything, you being here by accident is just more incentive."

Damon raises his eyebrows skeptically, "Oh? And what incentive would that be?"

"Incentive to keep following the memories, and figure out what's really going on."

* * *

Bonnie shifts uncomfortably in her seat, staring at the front door pensively. The whispers were calling her, they're urging her on and beckoning her to come find them but Bonnie's unsure if she should run and get Damon, or just watch the memory by herself. He'd gone to some nearby gym while she worked on his christmas present in an art studio, he's only three blocks away but she's not sure if the memory will wait around for them. Then again, it's only one memory, it could be supremely boring for all Bonnie knows and probably unimportant, she doubts that Damon would really miss anything.

Bonnie gets up slowly from her seat, following the hushed voices once more and moves towards the back of the room; she's drawn to a beaten-up white backdoor, opening it up; she steps inside to find herself at what appears to be a large bus station. A huge sea of people are surrounding her, which feels a little overwhelming but there's something different about this particular crowd, in fact all of them appear to be black.

All the men are carrying small suitcases, dressed in suits and the mood isn't particularly cheerful, if anything it feels pretty dismal and morbid. All the men seem to be clutching the women closely, their hands entwined and chaste kisses are being exchanged; high-pitched wails echo through the air, and some of the women have tear tracks glittering down their faces, children gazing up in confusion as they clutch to the adults.

Bonnie looks around, her eyes drifting towards a visibly pregnant woman who's clutching her husband's hands tightly, but what really catches her by surprise is the talisman around the woman's neck. If Bonnie didn't know any better, she'd have to say that's one of her ancestors; she walks towards them, their conversation becoming more clear as she moves closer towards them.

"Keep this with you at all times, okay Richie? It'll protect you, I put a spell on it, you'll stay safe as long as you always keep it in your pocket. You gotta come back so you can meet our baby," the woman pleads beseechingly, her eyes swimming with tears as she holds up a thin silver chain.

"Pauline, darling, I'll come back. There's no need for any spells, I'll be safe," Richie smiles, seeming a little more upbeat.

"You have to come back. I just need to know you'll be okay, this will give me peace of mind, knowing that you'll come back and get to meet our lovely child."

"I'll write to you everyday, my darling. You just make sure you and _only_ you are reading it, anytime during the day, just so we both know that we're thinking about each other, especially at nightfall."

Bonnie tries not to cringe watching her ancestors flirt and make sexual comments. Even if she's never met these people, but there's still something really weird about it, even if this memory has technically already happened.

"I was thinking...for the baby, if it's a girl, we call her Amelia. If it's a boy, we'll call him Frank."

"I love it, my darling," Richie says affectionately, giving Pauline a kiss and she grins tearily.

"You promise me you'll come back from the war? Promise me you'll come home."

Richie caresses Pauline's cheek tenderly, looking at her with soft eyes, "I promise you I'll come back. As long as you promise to wait for me."

"You know I will," Pauline whispers, kissing her husband again.

She seems desperate not to let him leave, but Bonnie's sure he'll come back unscathed. She knows that Grams had two siblings named Frank and Amelia, they all had the same parents so Richie did survive the war. But Grams never really talked about her family, she'd talk about her siblings but never really her parents. Bonnie can't help but wonder what happened after the war, if Richie had come back fully unscathed or if the war had changed Grams's family; it's a question that unfortunately will never be answered.

"ALL ABOARD, SOLDIERS!" a deep voice yells firmly, and Pauline lets out a shaky sigh as she releases Richie reluctantly.

"This isn't a goodbye, Pauline. Take care of yourself and our baby, I love you so much," Richie says, kissing Pauline's hand and pulls away slowly, their hands slipping away from each other. Bonnie and Pauline watch Richie walk towards the rundown bus along with all the other men, the cries of women and children echoing around them. Bonnie takes a step forward, stumbling and falls down; she braces herself for the hard concrete of the bus pavement, but ends up hitting the beaten wood of the art studio floor.

Bonnie gets up off the ground, puzzled and her mind burning with questions. There's definitely a pattern with these memories, since all the memories are focusing on Bennett women from history, going backwards from the present but what Bonnie doesn't understand is where it'll stop. Who exactly is at the end of this wild chase?

* * *

"Okay, tell me what you think," Bonnie hands Damon a small glass of eggnog, eyeing him impatiently as he takes a sip of the drink. All that can be heard for a moment is a cheesy holiday song playing in the background, the hum of a roast beef cooking in the oven along with some rolls. Neither Bonnie or Damon have any idea if it's actually Christmas Day, but had settled on today anyways, choosing to have a nice Christmas dinner along with a movie afterwards. Damon definitely had different ideas for his Christmas this year, but surprisingly he's actually pretty pleased with how the holiday's going so far.

"Not bad, Bennett. You put bourbon in this, didn't you?" Damon takes another sip, and Bonnie grins triumphantly.

"Nothing wrong with that, right? If anything, it's a much needed ingredient," Bonnie begins pouring herself a glass, and Damon tisks.

"I don't think you should be drinking bourbon, Bon Bon. I don't know if you can handle it."

"Well, I don't think a 170 year old man should still be walking around, and yet here we are."

"Ooh, you kissed Little Gilbert with a mouth like that?"

"Better than kissing someone who enjoys drinking fresh human blood and smells like a dusty old bar."

"Ah, I don't do that anymore. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a changed man."

"That's only because your tolerance is low now that you're a frail and weak human," Bonnie snorts, earning a light whack from a pillow Damon's holding. "Did you want to do gifts now or later?"

"What the hell, let's just do it now. I'll go first," Damon grabs his gift bag, practically shoving it in Bonnie's hands. Bonnie raises an eyebrow, smiling as she carefully takes out the tissue paper; Damon had considered going with a joke gift, just to see her scowl and maybe try not to laugh, but picking out a genuine present seemed much more interesting to him.

Bonnie takes out the first present, laughing a little at the multiple vintage records, "I guess my singing isn't as bad as you say, you clearly want to hear more if you're giving me these."

Damon rolls his eyes, smirking, "Some of them are songs from the 50s, but I put in some other stuff like classical songs and comedy records, that was another way for people to listen if they couldn't go to the show in person. Thought you might enjoy it."

"I can't believe there was even a record store in this town," Bonnie says, rifling through the records.

"There's one more thing in there."

Bonnie looks through the bag again, her brow furrowed and laughs again when she takes the crossword puzzle book out of the gift bag, "I can't tell if you're trying to taunt me or if this is a genuine gift."

Damon smirks, "A bit of both, I suppose. You'll have to finish your first book, so you can make it to this and find a way to go from a shitty crossword player to a mediocre one."

"Not too shabby, Salvatore. I'm impressed that you were able to hold off on the lingerie."

"It was a struggle, but I managed," Damon jokes, "Now, what did you get me, Bon Bon?"

"Okay, here it is," Bonnie hands him a large scroll of paper, and Damon gives her a questioning look.

Damon unravels the paper and freezes, his eyes staring intently at the painting of Stefan before him, "I didn't know you could paint."

"During the summer, my dad used to enrol me in art camps and I really liked painting. I'm not a great drawer, surprisingly paint is just easier for me to use. I didn't have Stefan's face in front of me so it's not completely accurate, but hopefully it's good enough," Bonnie explains, watching Damon expectantly.

"You have real talent," Damon replies seriously, meeting Bonnie's eyes with sincerity. "This is really great, thank you for this."

Bonnie smiles widely, "I'm glad you like it."

"You know, I think this little gift exchange actually makes us friends now."

"Clearly that eggnog has already gotten to you, I would say we're more like reluctant roommates. Friends is a bit of a stretch."

Damon ignores her response, instead standing up with his arms raised in celebration, "Bonnie Bennett is officially my friend, everybody! Miracles really do happen!"

"I guess your old age has finally caught up to you, spouting delusions like that. I figured it was only a matter of time before you went senile," Bonnie shrugs nonchalantly, and Damon gives her a dirty look, but he's trying not to smile. "I'm going to check on dinner."

"Deny it all you want, but you know it's true!"

* * *

"Holy shit, this is a good pie," Bonnie groans, "I love you."

"You're talking to the pie, aren't you?" Damon asks dryly.

"Duh, this is delicious. I guess being a vampire has its perks, if all those years of practice means eating good food like this," Bonnie shoves another piece of pie in her mouth. "Should we watch Die Hard after we clean up?"

"Yeah, even though it's not a Christmas movie. I can't believe you convinced me into watching Die Hard for Christmas."

"I bet I'll have you converted after you watch it, you'll see why it's a Christmas movie," Bonnie remarks cheekily, when the soft whispers invade her ears, the pull in her gut reawakening as another memory begins to call her.

Damon, as if sensing the change in the room, sets down his plate of pie, getting up from the dinner table, "Okay, where do we need to go?"

Bonnie stands up from the table as well, pointing at the back doors, "Right through there."

Damon opens the back door, Bonnie stepping inside first to find the room crowded with people dancing and drinking, the faint tinge of cigarette smoke wafting overhead; people are laughing and chatting loudly, mixed in with the sounds of a band playing jazz music.

"I think this is the 1920s, we must be in a speakeasy," Damon says.

"The prohibition era?"

"That's the one. These places were generally run by mobsters...and it was the 1920s, so African Americans were usually the staff. I think one of your ancestors worked here."

Bonnie sighs, "Yeah, unfortunately that makes sense...hey, is that you?"

She points at a man leaning against the bar, staring up at the band, all decked out in a navy pinstripe suit with a fedora hat on; Damon's eyes widens, "I think that is me, actually."

Bonnie follows Memory Damon's gaze to the woman who's at the microphone scatting onstage, her hair styled in sharp waves and she's wearing a beige flapper dress, "I think that's your ancestor, I might've been checking up on her."

They walk closer to the stage and the bar, instinctively avoiding the dancefloor even though they wouldn't even bump into anyone. There's a few bartenders serving drinks, but one of them keeps watching the woman on stage.

"Ray, come on! Try to make it a little less obvious that you're stuck on Margaret," one of the bartenders laughs.

"She's the bees knees, can you blame me?" Ray chuckles, focusing back on serving people but his eyes keep drifting back to Margaret.

"Why don't you just admit to Margaret that you're keen on her?" another bartender calls.

"What if it's a flat tire? I'll lose my chance then," Ray replies nervously, watching as Margaret meets his gaze and smiles as she keeps scatting.

"You'll never know until you try, old boy!"

"I think that man is your ancestor t-what the hell?" Bonnie looks sharply at Damon, noticing his clothes have changed; he's in a navy pinstripe suit with a fedora, he looks like all the men in the old pictures that Bonnie's seen in history class. She looks down at her outfit, realizing that now she's now wearing a green flapper dress, and touches her hair tentatively, noticing it's been magically styled in gelled waves. "Well this is new."

Bonnie laughs incredulously, "How did this even happen?"

"Maybe the further back we go, the more we have to adapt to the memory? I can't say I've missed these outfits, too much effort to take on and off, but the dancing was always the most fun you could have back in the 20s."

"You danced like these people?" Bonnie gestures to the crowd with a disbelieving smile, "I don't buy it, there's no way."

"Why don't you come dance, and I'll show you that I do have moves," Damon grabs Bonnie's hand, leading her into the thick of the crowd. "Okay, the charleston is actually kind of hard to do, but the jitterbug isn't too bad."

"Okay, let's see how to do it," Bonnie replies, hands on her hips as Damon does the moves. Bonnie laughs, but abruptly stops when Damon spins her around, catching her off-guard and they continue dancing until the memory fades to dust and ash.

* * *

**2 ¾ MONTHS**

* * *

"Hey, didn't you say we need more toilet paper?" Damon calls to an approaching Bonnie, watching her dump two cereal boxes into their grocery cart.

"Yeah, put some in," Bonnie replies dismissively, and Damon tosses a pack in the cart. "Okay, are we good to go?"

"I think so...did you get the whipped cream and the blueberries?"

"Obviously I did," Bonnie makes an exasperated face at him, and he raises his hands up in surrender.

"Just checking, I don't want you to miss out on the blueberry vampire faces."

They push the cart towards the exit, grabbing a few small things along the way and walk out into the warm afternoon sun, heading towards Damon's car, the rest of the parking lot abandoned.

"Can I ask you a weird question?" Bonnie exclaims suddenly.

Damon wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, giving her a sly smirk, "What kind of question would that happen to be, Bon Bon?"

"Not that kind of question. Vampire-related."

"Okay, what is it?" Damon asks sharply.

It's still a bit of a touchy subject, the fact that he's human. Truthfully, he alternates between missing being a vampire and enjoying being human. It's like when he goes running; there's times when he hates the way his lungs burn and how his heart can pound so loudly in his ears, but sometimes he relishes the feeling of his body working so hard. It's hard not to have any of the benefits of vampirism anymore, but for the most part, he doesn't mind being human; still, that doesn't mean that he wants to have a heart-to-heart with Bonnie, discussing his lost hopes and dreams.

"What did blood taste like?"

Damon blinks, letting out a startled laugh, "That's your question? You never asked any of the other thousand vampires that were living in Mystic Falls?"

"You're such a drama queen, there's only three of you basically, four if you count Tyler. All the other vampires were basically trying to kill us, I doubt that questions about my blood would convince them to surrender. And it's weird to ask since every vampire basically wants to feed on me on some level. At least you're no longer a vampire, you won't get that hungry look in your eyes."

"Fair enough. I mean, I'm not Stefan so it's not like I go gaga whenever I even see or smell blood. I guess it tasted like the best food you've ever had, and you don't even think about it, not like how people will sometimes think about the calories of eating junk food. You're not thinking about the fact that you're drinking blood, it's more about the fact that it can taste like a drop of water in the middle of the desert."

"It sounds kind of interesting, in a creepy way," Bonnie puts the last bag of groceries inside the car, stepping towards the passenger's door but stops abruptly. Damon slams the car trunk, glancing at Bonnie and follows her gaze to a door standing in the middle of the parking lot.

"Well that's just full-on creepy," he walks over to the door, letting Bonnie open it. They both step inside, finding themselves on a dark road with a couple buildings; most of the shops are closed, but some people are still wandering the streets. Damon looks at Bonnie, realizing that their clothes had changed again; Bonnie's in a maroon dress with puffy sleeves, her hair pulled up into a bun and Damon looks down at his outfit, groaning a little. "I look like my father."

Bonnie glances up from examining her dress, "It feels like I'm wearing ten corsets...I can't believe it took so long for women to start wearing pants, it probably took two hours to put this thing on back then. Who on earth was benefiting from wearing stuff like this?"

Damon watches as a carriage goes by on the road, but is immediately caught by surprise at the woman crossing the street hurriedly. He grabs Bonnie's hand, dragging her towards the woman quickly.

"Damon! What are you doing?"

"I know why we're here, I recognize that woman, the one in the brown dress. She's Emily's daughter, Florence."

"Oh! Oh...why do I get the feeling that something bad is about to happen?"

Damon doesn't respond, he keeps walking when he finally sees the vampire laying on the ground, pretending to be unconscious; Damon used to do the same thing before cars existed, but he knows Florence well enough that she won't be fooled by the act.

"Sir! Are you alright?" Florence calls warily, approaching the vampire hesitantly.

"Wait...Damon, is she about to get killed?" Bonnie asks softly.

"Just watch, okay?" Damon responds quickly.

"Help...I need help," the vampire moans, but Damon can sense the anticipation in his voice, the awaiting need for blood.

"What can I do? Should I call for help?" Florence asks, but she seems too focused on the vampire to actually believe he's in trouble.

The vampire looks up, his eyes bloodred with black veins, "You can try, but no one will hear you."

The vampire tries to vamp over to her, desperate to drink her blood when he recoils, crying out as Florence raises a hand, her eyes blazing as she gives the vampire an aneurysm over and over.

"Wrong move, _vampire_. Tell me, what was it that made you approach me, hmm? Was it the fact that I was alone by myself, or the fact that you knew no one would go looking for someone like me? Or maybe, it was both," Florence sneers, a stake slipping out from the sleeve of her dress. She stabs him in the back vehemently, her lip curled and the vampire lets out a shriek of pain. "That's for my mother, Emily Bennett. If I _ever_ see you again, you'll suffer a far worse fate."

"She didn't kill him?" Bonnie questions, sounding a little disbelieving.

"Well, it's quite possible she did or severely injured him with the stake, he doesn't have a ring so it's possible that he'd be too weak to find shelter when morning comes. Either way he's in a lot of pain. Florence was always quite fierce, and she knew what had happened to Emily. She did this stuff on purpose, you know. Vampires would come to town hearing about the tomb, and she'd go out at night to hunt them."

"Wasn't that dangerous? Not just hunting vampires, but a black woman walking by herself at night."

"Yeah, Florence never stopped though. She was a very strong witch, she could definitely hold her own if someone did try to attack her. She knew the spells from her own family grimoire too, so if she did hurt a human or defend herself from an attacker, she could erase the memory, like I said, she was a powerful witch. One time I helped her with compelling someone."

"Right, I forgot you protected the Bennett line."

Damon frowns, feeling a ripple of annoyance. He isn't entirely sure why, but that comment bugs him; he watches Florence walk off down the street into the night, still hunting. "I would never stay for long, I'd usually just check up on her or sometimes I would spar with her. I always liked her, she was like a friend but always at arm's length, stake hidden somewhere. I was a vampire, after all."

Bonnie hums, "It's nice that you helped her out anyway, it probably came in handy a bunch of times."

"Was...was that a compliment, Bennett?"

Bonnie laughs a little, "Take it however you want, Salvatore."

"See...we are friends."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that Tyler (kind of) and Jeremy were considered to be more "artistic," but hey, why can't Bonnie be that way too? After all, she's not just a witch, she has other interests. Also, if anyone's interested, the song that Bonnie's singing at the beginning of the chapter is called "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" by Ella Fitzgerald. 
> 
> I have some good stuff lined up for the next couple chapters! Next update will be within a week to a month. Comments are appreciated, thanks for reading!


	6. CHAPTER 5: Never Thought You'd Be So Damn Hard to Replace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from the song "Off The Table" by Ariana Grande ft. The Weeknd. Happy reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

"Okay, so, I called all of Damon's regular bars in New York, and no one's seen him," Stefan explains quietly, "I even called the bars that are run by vampires, so it's not like anyone there could be compelled. It's possible that he could've gone to other bars in the city but still, someone should've at least seen a glimpse of him."

"Do you think he'd lie to you about where he was really going?" Caroline asks doubtfully, glancing quickly at the teacher to make sure her and Stefan's conversation is going unnoticed. They're supposed to be quietly working on an english essay, but it pales in comparison to the possibility that Bonnie and Damon are missing.

"It's possible...I tried texting him a couple times, but no answer."

"Hmm, okay. Oh yeah, I emailed Bonnie's dad, I mean I couldn't exactly ask if he thinks something's wrong with Bonnie, he thinks she's in Philly too but I have Lucy's number. I'm going to text her and ask about Bonnie, see what she says."

"That's something at least."

"Yeah, it is. I'm just worried, because what if Bonnie isn't with her?"

* * *

"Good morning, Bon Bon...ooh, are you making an omelette?" Damon asks hopefully, peering at the stove and Bonnie shoos him away with a spatula in hand.

"I'm making you one too, don't worry."

"Did you get-"

"The tomatoes and purple onions? Yes, and I put in some other spices that shall remain nameless because I need to preserve my secret ingredients for omelette making."

"Excellent. Do you need help with anything else for breakfast?"

"Nah, I think we're good. You just sit there, look pretty and wait for me to serve you," Bonnie replies dismissively, the words slipping out of her mouth before she can stop it, her cheeks heating up with mortification as she waits for Damon's reply.

"Sit pretty, hmm? Is that all I am, Bonnie, hmm? Don't reduce me to something as shallow as looks!" Damon protests, but she doesn't have to look to know that he's doing that stupid smizing thing.

"Calm down, drama queen, you know you like the compliment. Here, look, first one is done," Bonnie sets the plate down in front of him, and focuses back on making an omelette for herself. She can hear Damon's hum of approval, his fork scraping against the plate and it does make her kind of pleased. He's much better at cooking than she is, at least there's one meal of hers that he really likes.

Things are definitely getting easier here. Her and Damon have settled into a routine, and she finds that it works pretty good for them; in fact, better than she ever thought possible beforehand. When they aren't arguing over something insipid or he isn't purposely bugging her, she finds that she actually enjoys his company. In the first few weeks of them being stuck here, talking to him was a necessity, a way of making sure she stayed somewhat sane but now she'll talk to Damon because she genuinely wants to talk to _him_.

Living in a ghost town is still a little odd, especially considering electricity still works from the lights in the house to the freezers at the grocery store, but she has to admit that the house they're living in is starting to feel like a home. The large windows, the plush throw pillows, the large white kitchen and potted plants around the house make it feel so homely, Bonnie isn't sure she ever felt that way about her own house back in Mystic Falls. She still wants to go home, see her friends and dad again but she'll definitely miss this house if she ever makes it back home. Bonnie finishes making her omelette, setting it down on a plate and joins Damon at the kitchen table silently; she's about to take her first bite when she hears the whispers again and groans.

Damon looks up, deciphering her expression and huffs, "Don't tell me they're interrupting breakfast now."

"I'm afraid they have...do you think I could just bring the omelette with me?" Bonnie asks hopefully, getting up from the table and looks longingly at her plate.

"Eh, your choice. Hopefully they won't take too long."

Bonnie walks out of the kitchen, down the hall and stops in front of the front door; she opens it slowly, looking inside and steps into the foyer of a large house. The furniture appears to be very old and looks especially stuffy; however, there's no thin layer of dust, suggesting that the furniture's being put to use but Bonnie didn't recognize the house.

"Holy shit."

"What is it?" Bonnie asks, looking at Damon quizzically.

"I used to live here, this is where I grew up."

"Really? Wait, does that mean Emily is here?"

As if right on cue, Emily Bennett appears along on the staircase with another woman; Bonnie's confused for a millisecond, wondering why Elena's there but quickly realizes it's Katherine. As expected, she doesn't look any different, except for the elegant rich purple dress she's wearing, seemingly in a deep conversation with Emily. Bonnie watches them closely as they descend the staircase and walk across the foyer to the large doors that lead outside; Bonnie tugs on Damon's arm, dragging him towards Emily and Katherine so they can listen in on their conversation.

"...going into town to see Pearl tomorrow, apparently she has something she needs to discuss with me. Do you wish to come along? I suspect it must be important, since she wishes to speak in person," Katherine asks Emily calmly, but Bonnie can tell that even now, Katherine's alert, as if mentally preparing herself for a fight. Bonnie can only guess that the founding families are already onto the vampires, and the hinted implication behind their words mean that they don't want anyone eavesdropping.

"Perhaps I will, but I may need to watch the children. I shall let you know tomorrow morning...will you be bringing a Salvatore, Katherine? Is it possible that I'll be joining you _and_ Damon tomorrow?"

Katherine laughs a little, nudging Emily's arm playfully. Bonnie would've found it somewhat sweet, if she didn't already know that Katherine was a backstabbing traitor. "I'm afraid this discussion will not be privy to Damon's eyes and ears. After all, what use do I have of him?"

Emily and Katherine slow to a stop, Katherine waving slyly at two men in the distance with a seductive smile; Bonnie squints, watching the two men wave back happily, giving Katherine their full attention and seemingly oblivious to the other for a minute.

"Wait a second...is that...you?" Bonnie asks, forgetting about Emily and Katherine to approach what looks like Memory Stefan and Memory Damon playing out in the field. When he doesn't respond, she looks up to see him nod curtly; she walks closer to them hesitantly, examining the two of them.

Both of them look the same, it probably isn't too long before they'd been turned into vampires, but something was different about them. Memory Stefan looks so young and innocent, the way he smiles and laughs seems so pure and almost naive; the world has not weighed down on him yet, this Stefan doesn't carry any guilt or dark secrets the way the other Stefan does, the one that Bonnie knows. Bonnie feels almost sad for him, knowing how Katherine had ripped all that away.

But even Memory Damon feels as different as the one standing beside her; he still has the same sort of charm, a nonchalance that only Damon can pull off but still, there's clearly a difference between the two. Memory Damon seems so earnest and genuine, his eyes are light and playful without a care in the world. The camaraderie between the two brothers seems so real as well, there's no malice or resentment in the way they interact; Bonnie can't help but feel sorry for what Damon and Stefan have lost to Katherine, but also slightly annoyed at Elena.

Bonnie doesn't know much about family, she can't exactly look at her own life for examples but Katherine had clearly ripped apart Stefan and Damon's relationship, that much is true. But even after all these years, it should've been a possibility that they would've patched things up eventually; until Elena came into the picture, and put the two brothers back on thin ice at times. From what Bonnie understood, Katherine never exactly pretended to be a saint about what she'd done, but what did that say about Elena? Katherine knew what she did, but had Elena ever really understood the damage she could've done to the brothers' relationship? Or had she just been willfully ignorant?

Well, at least Elena had finally made her choice and stuck with it. But still, there's something bugging at Bonnie's mind, a question demanding to answered because she's not sure that she understands the timeline of the breakdown between Stefan and Damon as brothers. True, Katherine had wedged her way into the relationship, but surely family would've been stronger than the allure of a woman.

"Did Stefan know that Katherine was a vampire? Did he want to become one?" Bonnie asks tentatively, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"No, Katherine compelled him. Only I knew about Katherine, and agreed to become a vampire."

Bonnie frowns, "I don't understand. Why didn't you do anything?"

"You're going to have to be more specific on what's bugging you, Bonnie," Damon replies harshly.

"If you knew that Katherine was a vampire and that she killed people or fed on them, why didn't you protect Stefan? Weren't you worried about him, wasn't he only seventeen at the time?"

"What do you want me to say, Bonnie?" Damon sneers, staring straight ahead and Bonnie resists the urge to roll her eyes. He's already on the defensive, probably getting ready to mentally take shots at her at any moment.

"Look, I know that you can't take back the past. What's done is done, I'm not trying to shame you but even after you found out what Katherine did, why'd you still punish Stefan?"

"I don't know. I guess it was just easier to blame him than continue to hate myself. He's always the favourite, and I'm not," Damon admits coldly, the memory disappearing into the same grey ash that it usually does, "Besides, we're past the point of any brotherly reconciliation. I'm not proud of it, you know. It's dawned on me that I can be a complete asshole towards him."

"No need to tell me that," Bonnie chuckles, but quickly stops when Damon shoots her a dirty look, "But you should say this to Stefan if you ever get back to Mystic Falls. It's not me that needs to hear this, it's him. And I don't think you should count out a brotherly reconciliation. You guys were close once before, so why can't it happen again?"

"C'mon, Stefan wouldn't want that, if anything he's probably happy that I'm gone."

Bonnie moves to face Damon, crossing her arms with a skeptical expression, "I highly doubt that he's anywhere close to being happy that you're gone. You need to stop bringing yourself down. I'm not saying that Stefan can just fix you up and mold you into a good brother, because it doesn't work that way. If you want to be a better brother, then it's up to _you_ to make it happen. You need to put in the time and the effort if you want to fix things properly with Stefan."

"And you really think I could do that?" Damon asks hesitantly after a few moments of silence, and they're back in front of their house, standing on the manicured front lawn.

"Yeah, I think you could, but it's not important what I think, or what anyone else believes. At the end of the day, the only person who can really make it happen is you."

* * *

"It would be so fun! I know you're an old man who hates anything fun, but I guarantee you'll love it," Bonnie suggests with wide eyes, trying to look convincing. They have this argument practically every time they go to Walmart, and Damon is standing firm, he's not going to budge with this.

"I know what you're trying to do by calling me an old man, and it's not going to work. We're not getting a trampoline, Bon, it'll take forever," Damon shakes his head sternly, trying to hide his amusement.

"We literally have all the time in the world, and it doesn't even cost any money! A trampoline would be super fun, it would give us something to do," Bonnie replies casually, giving him a hopeful look but Damon shakes his head again. Bonnie huffs, shooting the trampoline one last look before pushing the shopping cart ahead. "One day, when you're out on a run, I'm going to take the car down here and lug that trampoline back home."

Damon snorts, "If you want to do that yourself, I'd be happy to watch. Truth or dare?"

"Are you really that bored that you want to play truth or dare? All I see is more reason to buy the trampoline if you're resorting to this game."

"We're not getting the trampoline, now choose one. Truth or dare?"

"Ugh...fine, I don't know, truth."

"Boo, that's the lame option."

"You're the one that wanted to play!"

"Yeah, yeah, okay, uh, what did you think of Stefan when you first met him?"

"Really? That's what you want to use your question on? Don't you want to ask something more...I don't know, personal? I was half-expecting a sexual question from you."

"Don't worry, I'm saving that for later."

"Gross. Anyways, he was nice when I met him. But then my magic started manifesting, and this was before I knew he was a vampire, so I was kinda freaked out and didn't really trust him. It didn't help when my Grams died, but, you know, things improved."

"Just like that, things got better?" Damon prods, frowning a little and Bonnie shrugs, looking both uncomfortable and confused.

"It took time, and even when I was polite, I didn't fully trust Stefan but I know him now. He's always trying to be a better person, always trying to help others even if there's nothing in it for him, even if it means he'll die trying...he's sincere, he means what he does and says. Anyways, it's your turn now. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Wow, so you just judged me for picking truth, and now you've chosen the same thing!"

"That's because if I choose dare, you'll just dare me to get the trampoline and I'm not taking any chances."

"Omigod, you're such a Slytherin."

"Well, Slytherin's the house with all the attractive and interesting people, right? So I take that as a compliment. Now, c'mon, let's hear your dare!"

"Okay, okay, let me think of something…"

* * *

**3 MONTHS**

* * *

"Okay, what did you get? You probably got 'totally mature girl,' I bet you did," Damon smirks, and Bonnie rolls her eyes good-naturedly.

"Actually, I got 'silly but sweet.' Better than getting 'kid-like cutie,' I think," Bonnie retorts, smirking in return and Damon glares at her.

"These magazine quizzes are garbage, they never get me right," Damon grumbles, and Bonnie chuckles, placing the teen magazine back on the coffee table. They are pretty silly quizzes, but it's amusing to see Damon get all worked up over whatever answer he gets. Personally, Bonnie believes his results are usually pretty accurate, but Damon seems hell-bent on denying whatever answer he gets. "Is it my turn to cook tonight?"

"Hmm, I think so...will you make the gnocchi again?" Bonnie looks at Damon hopefully with an enticing smile.

"We had gnocchi two days ago," Damon points out amusedly.

"But your gnocchi is so good and I think it's my favourite meal of yours because you're such a good cook," Bonnie tries to give him a winning smile, and Damon arches an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to flatter me?"

"Maybe...is it working?"

"I will make gnocchi, but you owe me an omelette tomorrow."

"Fine," Bonnie responds triumphantly, when the whispers curl up into her ears and she can feel the familiar tug in her gut. Damon stiffens, studying her closely and slowly gets up from the couch; he's getting better with sensing when a memory's trying to reach her.

"Where do we need to go?"

Bonnie grabs Damon's arm, tugging him lightly to the white french doors that lead to the backyard; he opens the door, both stepping onto the back porch to see another door right in front of them. It's pretty rundown and looks like it'll fall apart if someone were to gently push it, but Bonnie turns the knob, surprised to feel that it's quite steady. The door opens up to a small dark room, and Bonnie steps inside to see an African American woman sitting at a rickety table with a girl that looks like her daughter, no older than eleven, and there's a grimoire open up on the table.

"So these are spells, Mama?" the girl asks excitedly, her bright green eyes darting across the page quickly. "And you'll teach me?"

"Yes, sweetling, only in our home, though. _Never_ outside of our home, and _never_ in front of anyone else other than me. If anyone else finds out, they'll be in danger too and last time people knew about witches, our family had to flee Salem," the woman explains gravely, and the girl nods obediently with wide eyes. "It's not just that, either. Some people may want to use our powers."

"Isn't it a good thing to help people who need it?" the girl questions confusedly.

"I mean vampires, you don't go near one. I'll teach you spells to defend yourself, but never reveal your powers unless you're in danger. Vampires, like some people, will want to use our magic for their own benefit. I'll teach you more about them later, when I start your training properly."

"How are vampires real, Mama? Are they born like witches?"

"No, they were first created by magic."

"By magic! How do you do that?"

"It's very dangerous, Beatrice. See, not all magic is good, there's dark magic out there, magic whose name cannot even be evoked because even speaking of it would be to speak of evil. _Never_ use dark magic. The consequences are too hard to bear. My mother warned me, and so did her mother and her mother. One day you will tell your children the same thing."

"And...our family has never used dark magic? Ever?"

Beatrice's mother ponders the question thoughtfully, pushing back her dark hair, "It's quite possible that some of our family may have used dark magic in the past, but those stories are lost in time. All I know was that the price was too high, the consequences were too much to bear."

Bonnie frowns, staring down at the floor downcast. She knows that these memories are technically centuries ago, but it feels a little like she's failed her own family in some way. From what it looks like, Beatrice had her mother to guide her and Bonnie had Grams for a little while, but even Grams had mentioned the rule of never messing with vampires. But Bonnie hadn't really listened, instead she'd become friends with vampires, even going as far as saving them from dying.

But then again, things are different now; Lucy had handled becoming a vampire really well, she'd been sticking to bloodbags the whole time and Caroline's the epitome of self-control when it comes to blood. Bonnie knows that bad vampires outweigh the good ones, she isn't stupid but is she betraying her family's legacy by befriending even the good ones? Does she even count as a real Bennett by ignoring rules that have clearly been in place for centuries?

* * *

Damon scans the kitchen and the living room, searching for some sign of Bonnie; he runs a hand through his hair, grabbing a glass from a cupboard and is about to turn on the tap to get some water when he looks through the kitchen window, a silhouette of a small body laying outside on the grass underneath the flickering stars. He sets the glass down, instead heading outside and sauntering towards Bonnie who appears to have a bottle in hand; he squints slightly, realizing it's a bottle of tequila.

"Oh good, you're here! Come take a sip of my drink, let's get drunk," Bonnie slurs lightly, her eyes unfocused and slightly hazy. Her hair's still wet from a shower, she's buried in a large grey sweater and thin leggings as she smiles up at him, laying down on a thick checkered blanket. Damon sits down on the blanket hesitantly, taking the bottle from her hands and examines her cautiously.

"What made you decide to get drunk all of a sudden?" Damon asks pleasantly, sounding as if he's just talking about the weather. He hasn't exactly encountered a drunk Bonnie before, and proceeding gently may be the best way to figure out exactly what kind of a drunk she is.

"I don't know...just life, I guess. The memories always have me thinking about stuff," she replies conversationally; Damon takes a quick swig of the tequila, before handing it back to her. "Sometimes I feel like a huge disappointment."

Damon stills for a moment, examining the vacant look on Bonnie's face. It's not like they've never talked before, they talk everyday but never this deep. "What makes you think you're a disappointment?"

"I just feel like I'm failing everyone. I failed my friends by not doing enough, by not being able to save them when it counted. I failed my family, Grams died and Lucy got turned into a vampire because she got dragged into my mess. I don't even have my magic, I'm never enough when the time comes and look at what Beatrice was learning. Look at all those Bennett women, I feel like I haven't even come close to them, I can't even get us out of here."

She still has that same vacant look on her face, as if she's talking about the daily newspaper or something. Something inside Damon breaks a little, he can't stand to listen to Bonnie beat herself up.

"That's not your fault, though. You can't always control everything that happens or manage to save everyone with your magic. What counts is that you tried your best, even here, you tried to get your magic even though I was against it."

"But I'm the witch, powers are what I do, that's who I'm supposed to be."

"That's not who you are, you're not just the witch or whatever," Damon snaps, suddenly uncaring if she's drunk or not. "Powers aren't just 'all' you do, you're more than that."

"Am I?" her voice sounds so small, almost disbelieving. Damon makes a mental note to give everyone a crash course in friendship etiquette if they ever get back to Mystic Falls.

" _Yes, you are_ and that's coming from me. Your family doesn't dictate who you are, you're allowed to do whatever _you_ want. You should put yourself first, fuck everyone else. You've saved everyone else's lives constantly without complaint, even when they didn't deserve it. You've saved my ass a couple times, even when you had every reason not to."

Bonnie smiles reluctantly, "To be fair, I did try to kill you more than once."

"I'd said we're more or less even, considering what I've done. You're definitely not a disappointment...if anything, you're probably the best of us," Damon admits, swallowing lightly as he stares down at Bonnie. He thinks that he should look away, this is getting too personal but something about her eyes is keeping him in place.

"You know, I am sorry about Elena," Bonnie says after a few moments of silence, still looking at him.

"What about her?"

Bonnie shrugs, taking another swig of tequila, her eyes studying him carefully as she speaks again, "That she didn't pick you...always coming in second place with the people you love, it sucks. But I think it was for the best, that Stefan was the one for her in the end."

"I guess because Stefan is the better brother, right?" Damon sneers.

"No, because people deserve to be with someone who puts them in first place. _You_ should be with someone that puts you first...why chase after someone? Why bother trying and trying to make someone love you? It doesn't work that way, what does it say about love when you wear someone down into loving you? Don't go for being second choice, don't be the scraps or the safety net. When you want someone, it's somebody to come home to, somebody to love, someone to take care of who takes care of you too. If you're going to pick that someone, make it someone who actually wants to be there," Bonnie explains quietly, then Damon feels her hand softly patting his leg.

He hardly knows what to say, how to respond to something like that and he knows it's earnest. It's fucking Bonnie Bennett, she's always annoyingly honest. The tequila seems to be like a truth serum or something, because she's spouting all this stuff that she would never say to him if she were sober. Or the alcohol is making her extremely philosophical, which isn't much better than the first option.

"Let's make a pact, then. You and me, our goals for if we ever get back to Mystic Falls," Damon announces, and Bonnie sits up, looking a little more cheerful.

"Okay, what's our pact?"

"If we get back to Mystic Falls, we both have stuff we need to do. You're going to focus on being who Bonnie Bennett wants to be, not who other people need you to be. And I will focus on being first choice, not second."

Bonnie taps her chin exaggeratedly, letting the words sink into her head for a moment before grinning widely, "Sounds good to me!"

"And you'll remember our pact in the morning?" Damon raises an eyebrow, and Bonnie nods vigorously.

"Heck yeah I will. I'm like an elephant, nothing can get past me."

Damon bites the inside of his cheek, trying not to laugh, "So we have a deal?"

Bonnie grabs Damon's hand, shaking it enthusiastically with a spacey smile. "Do you know the names of star constellations?"

Damon blinks, a little thrown by the sudden subject change. "Er, yeah?"

"Yay! Show me these constellations because I don't know any of them. Introduce me to the stars!"

Damon lays down next to Bonnie albeit reluctantly, his arm brushing against hers as he lifts his hand to point at a couple stars in the sky.

* * *

Bonnie groans, shifting onto her side and away from the harsh glare of the morning sun; she blinks blearily, realizing that they'd slept outside for the night. Last night's events start to slowly return to her, vaguely remembering that Damon had tried to take her back inside, which ended up with her screeching in protest and running away, and so he'd obeyed her request of sleeping outside. He probably hadn't been pleased about that, but the knowledge that she would wake up feeling like shit was probably enough incentive for him.

As if sensing his eyes on her, Bonnie's eyes flicker open and she looks at Damon, who's awake as well and watching her sleepily; he's probably still waking up too, and Bonnie gives him a lazy smile.

"Hey," her voice is still a little sleepy, "So, I'm pretty sure it was me who made us sleep outside, right?"

Damon nods, a hint of a smile on his face and she chuckles, her shoulders shaking with amusement, "You put up quite the fight, I couldn't manage to drag you in the house."

"That's my bad, I'm sorry," Bonnie replies in that same sleepy voice, and her eyes drift down, noticing that her and Damon's hands are loosely entwined; they quickly pull away, thick silence filling the air for a moment until she speaks again hesitantly. "I'm sorry if I overstepped at all last night, it's slowly coming back to me but I didn't mean-"

"You were just drunk, it's fine and honestly, you didn't really overstep anyway," Damon protests quickly, staring at Bonnie intently. There's something peculiar about the way he's looking at her, as if he's actually _seeing_ her for the first time and she finds herself strangely fascinated by the look on his face. But trepidation starts bubbling in her stomach, afraid to actually decipher what he's thinking, and Bonnie quickly sits up, clearing her throat slightly.

"Uh, did we make a deal or something last night?" she asks lightly, rubbing her eyes and she feels Damon sit up beside her.

"Yeah, we made a pact for something we'd do if we ever go back to Mystic Falls. I'm sure it'll come to you eventually," Damon answers distractedly, getting up from the picnic blanket. "Come on, I'll make breakfast."

Damon holds out a hand, pulling Bonnie up and she stumbles a little as she gets on her feet, "Sorry, I guess I'm still a little sore from sleeping on the ground all night."

"That's what you get for thinking it would be better to sleep out here," Damon remarks, but there's no bite to it. She chuckles a little, looking up at him and freezes, realizing how close they're standing together and their eyes are locked together. She can see the sharp lines and contours of his face, there are flecks of grey among the blue in his eyes and she finds herself wondering what it would be like to brush her hand across his cheek, how roughly he'd kiss her if she just leaned forward slightly.

Bonnie ducks her head, realizing this is heading into dangerous territory and takes a large step back. "I should go get changed...try and get the taste of alcohol out of my mouth."

She doesn't bother waiting for him, walking abruptly back to the house, trying to figure out if she's relieved or disappointed that nothing happened just then. But why does she feel anything at all? She's supposed to hate Damon, he's just her annoying roommate, nothing more. It's probably just a silly lapse in judgement, there's no way in hell that she's actually developing feelings for him, it's an absurd thought.

She definitely doesn't enjoy the way they banter, throwing lazy retorts at each other, or how Damon always makes her a cup of coffee in the morning if he's up first. She doesn't like how sulky he gets when he does those celebrity magazine quizzes, and she especially despises the way he'd looked at her last night, blue eyes burning into her and the words _you're more than that_ sounding so smooth and charismatic coming out of his mouth.

Bonnie Bennett would never go for Damon Salvatore, and he would never go for her, that's just the way it is. He's meant to love Elena, right?

* * *

**3 ¼ MONTHS**

* * *

It's like a mantra, repeating over and over in his head everyday to get the message that _he loves Elena_ to stick in his mind. It's only fair that he tries to save himself from more heartbreak, if he did like Bonnie, of course. Because he doesn't like her (another mantra he repeats daily).

Talking with a drunk Bonnie about their problems and waking up the morning after hadn't awoken something inside Damon; there hadn't been a warm feeling spreading in his chest, like a flower that's finally blooming, ready to unfurl properly. He doesn't constantly think about how close they were standing together, how vibrant her green eyes were and how he could faintly smell the sweet scent of her lavender body wash.

He definitely hadn't wondered if her lips would taste just as sweet. None of these thoughts are proving to be an inconvenience to him, because he loves Elena.

"Are you okay? You've been kind of distracted lately," Bonnie asks gently, startling Damon.

"I'm fine, just thinking about stuff," he responds, trying to seem casual and grabs the door to the music store, holding the door open as Bonnie steps inside.

He follows in after, looking around in confusion, expecting to see a store filled with CDs and records, instead he and Bonnie are in the front room of a small house; the walls are made of wooden logs and stone with a fire burning in the fireplace, there are a couple children sitting on the ground, looking tired and disoriented.

"Did you know a memory was coming, could you hear the voices?" Damon asks quietly, looking at Bonnie and she shakes her head pensively.

Damon notices a few trunks stacked by the door, he hears footsteps echoing around him and a man and a woman converge near the door; both of them are clearly Bonnie's relatives.

"Dolores is almost done packing up, then we'll go. The carriage is outside, you checked?" the woman asked quickly, a sleeping baby in her arms and her eyes flicker to the door constantly.

"I checked, no need to worry. Agnes, are you sure this is the right choice, leaving? Fleeing may not be the wisest choice in this situation," the man questions hesitantly.

"We risk more by staying, Tom. Who knows what will happen in the following months, or maybe even in the next few days. Everyone knows I am a healer, I don't know if one day the mob will come for me or the children, or even Dolores and her family. I will not risk our safety, my treasure," Agnes replies reverently, which seems to soften the man, Tom.

"I think this might've been during the Salem witch trials...didn't your family come from Massachusetts, and they left because they were hanging witches?" Damon murmurs, watching Bonnie's ancestors bring the bags outside to the carriages.

"I guess it must be, yeah...so it must be, what, 1692?" Bonnie notes.

"I wonder if by the end of this, we'll be seeing Adam and Eve in the Garden," Damon snarks, earning an eye roll from Bonnie.

"Mama...Mama! Do we really need to leave? Where are we going?" a small boy who's holding the hand of a toddler grabs onto Agnes, tugging on the skirt of her dress.

Agnes bends down, looking at the small boy in the eyes with a grave expression, "Nicky, we have to go because some bad people have learned about witches. They can hurt us really badly, maybe even separate us and our powers may not be enough to help us. I don't want you, or any of us to get hurt, which is why we have to go. We don't want to be taken away, lots of bad things can happen to witches when they reveal themselves. Do you understand, my darling?"

Nicky nods, his eyes wide and Agnes smiles, touching his chin briefly before standing back up and notices everyone's back in the room. "Shall we depart?"

"We're ready, sister," another woman responds, probably Dolores.

Just as the family piles out of the doorway, the memory disintegrates into ash and they find themselves back in the record store.

Bonnie's frowning slightly, tapping a finger against her cheek, "You know what's odd is that all their english...should we really be able to understand them? I know it's not like they're speaking another language, but I doubt that seventeenth century english is the same as it is today."

"So what do you think? The memories have been modified?" Damon proposes.

"In a way, I suppose. I think it's all been accurate, my memories were exactly the same but it could be that the language has been changed for us to understand. But that still doesn't give us any answers, I don't understand what this is leading to."

"Look, there's nothing you can do until the next memory comes along. You don't have to worry, we literally have all the time in the world, okay? So I suggest that we focus on finding some more CDs and records, something more recent so I can stop hearing sixties' music."

A little smile quirks up on Bonnie's face, "Don't lie, you like the sixties' music. You just like to pretend you're more hip and less of an old man."

"If I'm an old man for secretly liking older music then that means you're an old woman as well," Damon points out cheekily. Bonnie gives him an exasperated look, but the corners of her lips are upturned and she starts looking through some CDs, humming a song he doesn't recognize.

_He loves Elena. He loves Elena._

* * *

"Lucy?"

"Caroline, hey. I got your message about Bonnie, and she's not with me. I don't know where she is, I'm so sorry, I had no idea that she even left Mystic Falls."

"Oh my god...but she said she was with you, and if she isn't, then where is she?! She's probably been kidnapped, or she's dead in a ditch, maybe she got sucked into an alternate dim-"

"Hey, hey, Caroline, calm down, we'll figure this out. Start from the beginning, when Bonnie left town."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, kudos and comments are appreciated! Thoughts on bamon and any more ideas on what happened to them?


	7. CHAPTER 6: Tell Me How Good It Feels to be Needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from the song "Needy" by Ariana Grande. Happy reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

At the time, Bonnie had been convinced that her feelings for Damon were firmly friendly mixed in with irritation, but that sentiment is starting to feel less and less true everyday. Sometimes she'll catch herself staring at Damon's face when he's smiling or laughing, or she'll overanalyze every gentle touch, wondering if he lingered a second too long before internally slapping herself for even debating about those kind of things. But what's most disturbing is that she's not utterly repulsed by the way she feels about Damon. She should be completely disgusted, it's Damon after all, who's killed and hurt people in more ways than one. She has a million reasons to hate him, to wish he was dead and yet she doesn't.

Even worse, sometimes she can hear him saying _you're the best of us,_ the memory is so hazy but she can see him looking down on her with dark blue eyes and a soft expression. She hates how often she recalls it, how much the memory of him staring down at her tries to wedge its way to the forefront of her mind. The way she can feel the phantom weight of his hand holding hers, it haunts her every day.

Bonnie smoothes out her hair, trying to focus back on her crossword puzzle. She just needs to distract herself, but rather to take her attention away from Damon instead of trying not to being stuck here. She will not fall into the trap that is Damon Salvatore, she just needs to get out of this place before things get worse. However, that's all dependent on whether the memories are the key to getting out of this place. But if they aren't...that's a whole other scary idea, one that Bonnie isn't prepared to tackle yet. The heavy thump of Damon climbing up the porch steps interrupts her train of thought, and Bonnie looks up from her crossword to see a sweaty Damon heaving slightly.

"Hey, did you have a good run?" Bonnie asks casually; she has a feeling he did, he's usually kind of chatty without actually really talking when he's in a good mood.

"Yeah, it was good, could be a new record for me, but who knows. You don't normally sit out here," Damon points out, wiping the sheen of sweat from his forehead.

"Just wanted a change of scenery, and the weather's nice today," Bonnie answers, glancing across the street and does a double-take when she sees a completely different house opposite theirs. There's no doubt that it's another memory, it's getting harder to sense when they come, and the whispers always get stronger, more volatile each time she hears them. Bonnie gets up from her seat, Damon watching confusedly and she walks over to him, pointing across the street. "It just showed up...it's getting harder to sense them."

"They're not hurting you, are they?" Damon asks sharply.

Bonnie shakes her head with a reassuring smile, trying not to be touched by the question. They descend the porch steps carefully, walking across the street to the small wooden house. Bonnie opens the door, surprised to see it's only one large room and there's an old black woman lying in bed; her breathing sounds shallow, echoing throughout the room and Bonnie can tell this woman's on her deathbed. Another man appears, carrying a small cup and hands it to the old woman; Bonnie frowns, a little surprised by the man because he's a young caucasian man, with light blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. He's quite handsome, but there's something off about him, Bonnie gets the sense that this man can't be trusted.

"When I discovered that a Bennett had performed dark magic, I hadn't expected to find them on their deathbed," the man admits with a slight european accent. Bonnie's never seen him before, it certainly can't be any of the Mikaelsons since she's technically already met the family, and so has Damon.

"Do you recognize him?" Bonnie whispers to Damon, but he shakes his head in response.

"Please, call me Constance. Unfortunately, if you are looking for a witch, I'm afraid I won't be of much use. My magic isn't any good now...it won't be long before I join the Other Side," Constance rasps, grabbing the cup from the man with shaky hands.

"But it doesn't have to be this way, you still have a chance to live, Constance. I'm part of a very important coven, a very powerful one. All you need to do is say the word, and with our help, you will be reenergized, reunited with your family," the man explains soothingly.

"I suspect there's more to this proposal of yours, Nilus," Constance answers sharply, and Nilus smiles again; Bonnie suspects he's trying to go for charm, but it comes off more as cold and sly.

"Constance, you have no idea the power you have, how useful you could be to my coven. You see, we have a very particular goal in mind, my coven wishes to find and revive our master, Silas. Have you heard of him?"

"I can't say I have."

"Silas was a very powerful telepath and witch from a coven that was rich with magic. He was an innovator, a prophet for a new branch of powerful magic. My own coven has spent centuries trying to find him, figuring out how to bring our master back and now we have it. You are the key, Constance."

"Bring him back? That's not right, doing something like that goes against the balance of Nature, you...you use dark magic, that's how you found me."

"Traditional magic is just _so_ limiting. Silas has shown there are better paths, we can be stronger with dark magic. Can't you feel it, Constance? The power is...addicting," Nilus sighs, his eyes gleaming and Bonnie feels a wave of revulsion. This man, Nilus has clearly been affected by the dark magic, which probably means his coven practices it too. "Invoke Expression, and you won't have to die."

The candles flicker for a moment when Nilus says the word Expression, and Constance's face darkens, her hazel eyes narrowing distrustfully, "You dare speak the name? You...you have invoked one of the darkest branches of dark magic. Your mind has been afflicted, you know not the cost--"

"YOU DARE LECTURE ME ABOUT DARK MAGIC, EVEN THOUGH YOU USED THE SAME BRANCH OF MAGIC AS US!" Nilus roars, clearly unhinged. Bonnie knows it's a memory, but she feels scared for Constance. She doesn't enjoy feeling helpless, unable to protect or even help her family; this man is unstable, he could tear into Constance at any moment.

"I used that magic to save my family! Now _I_ am paying the price, the dark magic is killing me and I accept the consequences! I will not succumb, I will die naturally as Nature requires, as my punishment for invoking dark spirits. I will not pollute my mind or my heart as you have."

"Typical of Qetsiyah's descendant," Nilus spits out vehemently, "But I suppose your precious family should be incentive, hmm? My coven will find them."

"And yet you've never found us before," Constance points out pleasantly, her breathing becoming more feeble with every passing second. "I suspect traditional magic has locked you out completely, locator spells must be difficult for your coven to perform. Of course, you may search this house, but I must confess that this is not my home. All my items have been given to my family, there is no talisman here to guide you. Black magic has been rotting my body...I doubt that the blood running through my veins will prove to be of use to you. Bringing me back to life won't stop the dark magic from sullying my blood either. And to kill me? You'd be doing me a favour, Nilus."

Nilus lets out a roar of frustration, causing the table in the corner to split in half and Bonnie jumps, instinctually moving closer to Damon. Constance's eyes flutter lightly, and Bonnie can't help but feel sorry for her; her time is clearly coming to an end, and she has to spend her last moments being threatened and away from her family.

"TELL ME WHERE THEY ARE!" Nilus roars angrily, and Constance gives him a feeble smile before going still. The memory fades away, grey ash chipping away at a dead Constance and a furious Nilus before they're left back in an abandoned house.

Bonnie's hands are shaking, she shuts her eyes for a moment, trying to process what she'd just seen. This happened a long time ago, she knows it did and it doesn't seem like Nilus had found Constance's children, since Grams and Lucy never mentioned anything about a dark magic coven but now Bonnie can't help but wonder if Nilus's coven is still alive today. Could this coven still be a thing, still searching for a member of her family? Bonnie has no idea who Silas is, she's never even heard the name before and it sounds like her ancestor Qetsiyah had known him.

But why is she worried anyway? She's faced vampires, werewolves and the freaking Originals. But then again, it was never really been her life on the line. She'd always played the hero, coming in to save her friends with her powers. But with this coven, it seems like she's the target, not Elena or the Salvatore brothers or the Mikaelsons. Who will lay down their life to protect her if this coven is still around and tries to hurt her? Panic bubbles in her throat, threatening to spill out but she's momentarily startled by two warm hands wrapping around hers.

"I can feel you thinking and panicking. Nothing's going to happen to you, we're safe here," Damon presses sternly.

"I-I'm fine, Damon. I know we're safe here." _For now_.

"C'mon, don't lie to me," Bonnie's acutely aware of the fact that Damon's rubbing circles against her skin, " _Nothing_ is going to happen to you. I'll make sure of it."

Bonnie stares up at Damon, noticing the serious earnestness in his eyes before he pulls her into a hug; her head tucked against his chest, she can feel his chin on top of her head and even though he's still a little sweaty from his run, Bonnie doesn't care. She just savours the embrace, uncaring of whether his words actually have any truth to them.

* * *

"It was nothing, her pulse just spiked up and lowered, it's stable now."

"And yet it happened anyway. Do we have no way of preventing this? How do we know that she's not in danger right now?"

"The mind is a delicate thing, it cannot be tampered with. But everything's normal now, there's no need to worry. We've taken all the necessary steps to ensure that she cannot be properly hurt or severely injured."

"I hope you're right about this, and that our plans have not been derailed by any unforeseen consequences."

"You have my word. There's another matter of importance...we suspect Miss Bennett's friends and the vampire's brother are getting restless. We have reason to believe they've been conducting investigations of their own, our messages have not been convincing. Perhaps we should use the vampire to our advantage?"

"Possibly, but we must proceed carefully. If Miss Bennett finds the key soon enough, she may not be receptive if we act rashly with her friends. Let them wonder and search, we know that they won't be able to find them."

* * *

"Damon, this seems a little excessive. I'm fine, it's just a few bruises and scrapes, okay? I'm not a baby, I'll going to recover, you know," Bonnie reminds Damon sternly, sitting on the toilet seat and holding an ice pack to her shoulder.

"I found some bandages and petroleum jelly," Damon declares, purposely ignoring Bonnie's comment. For the first time in a while, he wishes that he was a vampire again so he can just heal Bonnie with his blood.

She'd been looking around the garage for a drill, which had ended with her falling off a chair and nearly getting pummelled with a bunch of tools falling off a shelf, not to mention she somehow cut her hand as well. He'd heard her cry from the kitchen, practically sprinting to find her in pain on the garage floor and had promptly carried her back in the house, immediately doing all he can to fix her up in the downstairs bathroom.

"The petroleum jelly feels a little unnecessary, I don't really care about scabs or whatever," Bonnie pauses, noticing the long gauze bandage in Damon's hand. "Okay, no, I'm not wrapping up my hand, a band aid is good enough, Damon."

"Bonnie, you will wear the damn bandages, and I will apply the jelly. There's no aneurysm to get you out of this one," Damn growls roughly, and Bonnie's eyes narrow in frustration.

"Why are you mad? I'm going to be fine!"

"I'm not taking any chances!"

"You're acting like I got a concussion or I broke my back, there's no need to be a mother hen! I'm not a doll, it's not like I'm going to break!"

"You _know_ it could've been a lot worse, you're lucky it was this minor."

Bonnie huffs, trying to meet Damon's eyes but he resists pointedly, "I still don't get why you're angry. I'm fine, stop overreacting!"

" _I'm angry_ because you're injured, and I can't let anything happen to you, no matter how small the cut or scrape is! Don't you get it?!" Damon stops himself before he can say anything more, afraid of being too vulnerable and saying something that could change the friendship they've formed.

Bonnie is quiet for a couple minutes, her eyes still on Damon but he can tell she's thinking. She finally speaks, no longer defensive, "It was just a fall, I'm safe and you're right, I'm lucky that it wasn't anything serious."

Damon studies her for a moment, finally making eye contact with her bright earnest eyes before begrudgingly apologizing, "I shouldn't have gotten angry with you, that wasn't fair to you. I just want to try and fix you up as best as I can."

"Okay, fine," Bonnie holds out her hand with the cut obligingly. "Here, you do the honours."

Damon hesitates for a second, before opening up the jelly and grabs Bonnie's hand tenderly, gently applying it to her cut; her hand feels so soft and warm against his, as if her touch is trying to overtake him. He doesn't think he's ever been this gentle with anyone before, not even with Elena, there was usually an underlying motive of some kind for him when acting "vulnerable" with her. And here he is, patching Bonnie up simply because he _cares._ Still, he tries to remind himself that he loves Elena, but those words sound so hollow and meaningless in his head.

"Have you ever had to do this? Patch someone up without vampire blood?" Bonnie asks quietly as Damon dabs on the jelly on the palm of her hand lightly.

"Yeah...when I was a part of the Confederate army. I wasn't a medic, but one time I brought in another soldier and I helped out with that. Can't say that any of the medicine was very advanced or effective, and it was a lot more gory than this. Course, I didn't fully realize that war was so brutal until I joined and then I deserted the army. I wasn't even invested in the cause, never believed in it but it was the South and my father was a dick who basically controlled my every move."

"Your father...what did he do, when he learned you deserted the army? Shouldn't you have gotten disowned or something?"

"Oh, I was punished for what I did. He whipped me so many times I lost count, he probably did consider throwing me out but he knew Stefan would hate him for it, and gotta keep the family intact, y'know? I guess he figured it was better to keep me close, so I couldn't drag him into any more trouble if I did leave."

"Fat good it did, keeping you around," Bonnie smiles, and Damon chuckles slightly, setting down the jelly and starts wrapping up her hand with the gauze. "What about your mom? Didn't she care?"

Damon shifts uncomfortably, staring intently at Bonnie's hand as he continues wrapping the gauze, "She died when I was sixteen, from consumption. Well, now it's called tuberculosis."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Was she a good mom?"

"Yeah, she was," Damon replies curtly.

"That's nice...what's one good thing about her? Tell me just one memory or fact, that's all and I won't bug you about it after this. I dare you."

Damon hesitates for a moment, before releasing a tiny sigh and reluctantly speaks, "Well, I can't refuse a dare. One thing would be that she loved to read poems. Every night when I was little, she'd read them to me just before bed. It could be any little poem, it made no difference to my mother. She had certain pages memorized, so she knew exactly where to go when she wanted to read her favourites. She'd read them out loud, sit right at the foot of my bed and when she was done, she'd kiss me goodnight, tell me she loved me. I remember she really loved 'A Red, Red Rose' by Robert Burns."

"Is that what you've been reading? The poems she liked?" Bonnie asks.

"Some of them, yes. I haven't memorized them or anything, not like she did," Damon finishes wrapping up Bonnie's hand, holding it up for her to see, "You're finished, good as new. Also, no cooking for you. If I see you even try to help out, I'll chain you to the couch."

"Noted. Thank you," Bonnie says carefully, her hand resting on her knee gingerly, "I'd like to hear those poems sometime."

"I'll read them to you. Or lend you the book, your choice," Damon amends quickly, realizing how that sounds.

He's so screwed. Being stuck with Bonnie is so fucking inconvenient, having all these feelings stirred up. He's never been in a situation like this before, and it scares him like never before; with Elena it was clear, deep down he'd always known it was Stefan for her, which had hurt but it wasn't because of him, it was because someone else was the better choice. Same thing with Katherine, if he really wants to count her. But Bonnie? No one to compete with, no Stefan-shaped obstacle. Damon only has himself in this situation, all his ugly parts and that's what made it truly frightening; he has no one to hide behind, only the painful truth that Bonnie will never go for him.

* * *

**3 ½ MONTHS**

* * *

"Truth or dare?" Bonnie jumps, surprised by Damon's arrival. She's outside on the porch, watching the thunderstorm and Damon had teased her, calling her a boring senior citizen. She doesn't really care, she always likes a good storm; she used to dance in the rain when she was little, and they help her think.

"Considering it's thundering, I'm going to pick truth. I'm kind of scared to see what will happen if I pick dare," Bonnie replies smoothly, watching as Damon sinks into the porch chair beside her. She's half-expecting Damon to start booing and lamenting about how lame she is with truth or dare, but he's clearly contemplating hard about his question.

"Who do you miss most from Mystic Falls?"

"Were you always this sentimental back in Mystic Falls?" Bonnie teases, smiling and Damon rolls his eyes. "I mean, I miss everyone...maybe Caroline, or Matt. I miss Caroline's smile, her laugh, her infectious energy and her rants about the smallest things. Or with Matt, I just miss talking with him, because he's so normal and it made me feel normal too at the time."

Bonnie feels a little flushed, slightly embarrassed about her response. It's Damon after all, his only friend died and it's not like he's on good terms with Caroline or Matt. So, she elects to quickly change the subject before they can properly dwell on it, "Okay, my turn. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to…" Bonnie trails off, only just realizing the voices have arrived again, growing louder over the rain falling. In truth, she doesn't know what to dare him to do so the voices provide some relief. She gets up from her seat, Damon mimicking her movement and walks over to the front door of the house; she opens the door, just wanting the memory to be done with and finds themselves in the middle of a forest.

The sun's already setting, dipping below the horizon and casting small rays past the mossy branches of the trees. There's a faint hum of a few birds nearby, and Bonnie can hear the crackle of someone stepping on branches. She turns around, noticing a dark-skinned woman walking quickly through the forest, her voice growing louder; the woman wore a simple white dress with a black cape over her jet-black hair, a woven basket on her arm.

"Mama is going to be very angry with you, she'll say 'oh Edith, why can't you ever watch the sun' and then Millie will laugh!" Edith mumbles under her breath, almost running through the forest and Bonnie follows after her, almost tripping when she realizes her clothes have changed _again._ She's wearing the same thing as Edith, except without the basket; she looks over at Damon, noting he's in a long white shirt and beige pants, staring at her with a wide-eyed expression.

Bonnie just marches forward, picking up the front of her dress and continues to follow after Edith; the sun's getting lower and lower, the woods becoming harder to navigate and Bonnie keeps stumbling until Damon finally grabs her hand.

"I'm going to have to change your nickname from judgey to clumsy if you keep tripping like that," Damon comments nonchalantly.

"It's just this stupid dress, and I'm so short, I'm not used to it...come on, we're losing her," Bonnie replies, tugging on Damon's hand and they keep walking ahead quickly. The sun disappears not long after that, and Bonnie's having trouble figuring out where Edith is when she sees the flicker of a lantern turning on. They walk ahead, about to reach Edith properly when a vampire comes out of nowhere, descending quickly on Edith; Bonnie rushes forward, determined to help her but is promptly surprised when Damon tugs her back and behind him. "Damon! It's a memory, I can't get hurt!"

"I could say the same to you about it being a memory! There's nothing you can do to help Edith," Damon pauses, watching the vampire shriek and Bonnie realizes that Edith is using her powers. "She's fine, see? There's no need to jump into action."

Bonnie watches as Edith rips a branch of a tree, staking the vampire in the back; Edith continues on her way home, clearly alert and the vampire will probably be dead by morning. Bonnie lets her ancestor continue to her home, not bothering to follow, she knows the memory is over.

"So I guess all Bennett women are just secretly vampire slayers," Damon observes playfully, and Bonnie rolls her eyes with a grin.

"I like to think that they're just giving the vampires a lesson in manners," Bonnie replies slyly. "Now, truth or dare?"

* * *

"Step away from the groceries, Bonnie," Damon admonishes her sternly, tugging the grocery cart away from her and Bonnie pouts, crossing her arms loosely.

"I'm not severely injured, Damon. I think I can handle helping you put away some groceries, I'll make sure to use my good hand," Bonnie protests tentatively, but doesn't motion to help him. "I think it's going to rain again. The weather's never been this stormy before...I don't understand why it's been like this lately, it was always sunny before."

"I've stopped trying to understand this place a long time ago. I'll be more interested if we actually manage to find a sign of life."

Bonnie hums thoughtfully, "I'm still not sure about the voices, the whispers, I still feel like they're trying to tell me something but I can never make it out. Every time though, I get a little bit closer--"

"You'd tell me if something was wrong or if it hurt, right?"

"Of course I would," Bonnie replies simply with no hesitation, and that pleases Damon more than he'd like to admit. "It's just becoming stronger, but not uncomfortable...they're back."

Damon puts the last of the groceries in the car, slamming the trunk and looks at her expectantly. "Where to?"

Bonnie blinks, looking confused, "I...I don't know. I think they're coming to us this time."

Before Damon has a chance to respond properly, he blinks and suddenly finds only the two of them in the middle of a village. It isn't a big congregation of people, they're surrounded by huts and small fire pits with people walking all around the village, but the mood seems to be very somber; Damon can see a large bonfire ahead, surrounded by several people.

"C'mon, I think we need to go over there," Bonnie says softly, and Damon presses his hand to the small of her back to lead them over to the bonfire. As they get closer, Damon realizes it isn't a bonfire but rather a burial ritual; he can see the silhouette of a boy lying in the flames, he doesn't appear to be very old at all.

"This must be a Viking village, since they're burning their dead. Only more reason to believe this happened a long time ago," Damon points out, when he feels Bonnie's hand snake up his arm and she seems to move closer to him. "What is it?"

Bonnie points a shaky hand, and Damon follows it to see the Mikaelson family, all of them watching the burial through tears. Damon instinctively shifts to get Bonnie behind him, watching the family warily. He knows it's a memory, they don't seem to be vampires yet but that doesn't take away from the fact that they've been infamous for a thousand years.

"They had a dead brother, right? This must've been when he died," Bonnie observes, her voice shaking a little as they watch the Mikaelson siblings mourn their brother.

They look practically identical to the last time Damon's seen any of them, except for the clothes and the hair; it's a strange sight, watching the most feared vampires display so much sadness and despair. Finn's watching the fire burn with tears in his eyes and Elijah, usually so put together, has tears silently dripping down his face; he has a hand on Kol's shoulder, who's also crying silently as well with a hand plastered over his mouth. Rebekah's on the ground, somewhat supported by Klaus; she has a hand cupped to her mouth like Kol, trying not to sob too loudly and Klaus is crying softly as well. Behind them stands an ashen Mikael and a despondent Esther who are watching the burial solemnly, when Damon notices the woman approaching slowly from behind them.

"Is that…?" Bonnie asks softly, clearly having noticed the woman as well.

"Esther was a witch, right? I guess she and your ancestor were good friends," Damon suggests, and they take a tentative step forward to Mikael and Esther to see what the woman is going to say. The woman approaches Esther swiftly, the two of them embracing and Mikael nods silently in greeting before turning back to the burial.

"My condolences, Esther. Henrik was always such a sweet child, always so curious and full of life, adored by all his siblings. I hope he will rest well in the afterlife," the woman says soothingly, pulling away to look at Esther properly with a sad smile.

"Thank you, Ayana. I appreciate you coming, I do not know what I would've done if you weren't here...I wanted to discuss an important matter with you, later tonight," Esther explains carefully, and Ayana looked a little confused but nods nonetheless.

"Esther...I hope you will not make any rash decisions, whether it be revenge or-"

"Ayana, I only wish to protect my children however I can. I cannot risk losing any of them, that is all I wish to discuss."

Ayana frowns, looking concerned, "Protect them? There are only so many spells, each of which is complex and leaves a loophole. You know that Nature requires a balance."

"Just come tonight, Ayana. We shall discuss then, alright?" Esther smiles reassuringly, patting Ayana's hand soothingly but Ayana still looks worried.

"I shall see you then," Ayana nods, walking away calmly before sparing the family one last wary look.

"Looks like your ancestor was BFFs with the Mikaelsons. I guess it's a Bennett trait to make friends with evil people," Damon remarks, feeling disappointed as Bonnie removes her hand from his arm.

"Yeah, well, they end up becoming vampires so maybe it's more of a vampire-witch thing. But we're still here and I don't think the memories are over yet, so it can't be about the Originals. How far back do you think we're going to go?"

* * *

"You did not!" Bonnie laughs, taking a bite of her chicken.

"I'm serious! I had a ticket, I was going to go on the Titanic, I came to London in 1908 and I was planning to leave in 1912, but I got the days mixed up on my ticket," Damon protests.

"You are so full of shit. You mixed up the days, really? That's your excuse?" Bonnie arches a brow, and Damon sputters in indignation.

"Why would I lie about something like that, hmm?"

"I guess you're just trying to impress me with all these stories," Bonnie teases, her smile fading a little as something else flashes on Damon's face, an emotion that makes her feel off-kilter but it disappears just as quickly as it comes.

"I promise you, it's true. Ask Stefan if we get back to Mystic Falls, I saw him not long after I came back from England...I traveled home because my half-brother died, that's why I left for home so soon."

"Hmm, why England of all places? Did you like it there?" Bonnie presses further, trying not to sound too eager. She's always wanted to travel, she's barely been anywhere her whole life and it would've been interesting to do so as a witch. She could've handled any vampires, and been able to learn more about her powers and visiting other witch communities out there would've been pretty interesting.

"It was a good change of scenery, everything was still being built up and changing so things could be exciting at times. Life wasn't good for everyone, but, you know, vampire and compulsion made things enjoyable and easier for me. Plus, I had some money to spare. At the time, I was really just waiting on Katherine. Any distraction was good enough for me."

"So, you're telling me that most, if not all your trips around the world were to distract yourself from Katherine? You didn't actually enjoy yourself?" Bonnie asks, feeling particularly unimpressed.

"That's not entirely true, I did enjoy myself," Damon retorts defensively.

"But you were doing it because of Katherine, not because you wanted to see the world," Bonnie points out, and Damon scowls. "What a waste. All those adventures, used only to forget someone else and make time go by."

"I didn't know she wasn't in the tomb, it's not like I wanted to wait around her."

Bonnie tsks, "It just sounds sad...having all these amazing opportunities, not even bothering to enjoy them."

"If we get out of here, I'll take you," Damon interjects, and Bonnie blinks owlishly.

"Take me where? To England?"

"Anywhere you want. I'll fund the whole trip, it could be Italy or the Bahamas or Tokyo. Wherever you want to go, I'll make it happen."

Bonnie laughs disbelievingly, "You really want to go travelling with me? After spending three and a half months alone together?"

"We could wait awhile, but I'll still take you wherever you want, whenever.."

"You're starting to make an awful lot of promises for if we get back to Mystic Falls," Bonnie remarks, smiling a little. She's caught between happiness and doubt, unsure of which emotion will win out.

"I promise you that I'll keep my word about everything," Damon assures her, and she takes another bite of dinner.

Bonnie's reminded of the pact they made the night she'd gotten drunk, how she's supposed to focus on what she wanted and he's going to concentrate on not being second choice anymore. Bonnie understands what it meant to be second choice, she loves her friends and her family but deep down she knows she isn't number one on their list; the only one who's ever really put her first is her Grams, and then no one. Even Jeremy, who'd been her boyfriend, had put a freaking ghost ahead of her. But figuring out what she wants? That question is starting to become more and more confusing to her every day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, comments and kudos are appreciated! Next chapter will be up in a week to a month. I've dropped a lot more clues in this chapter, has anyone figured out what's going on yet?


	8. CHAPTER 7: And as I Get Lost in Myself, I Remember You Effortlessly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from "Con Las Ganas" by Zahara. Happy reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- WARNING FOR SEXUAL CONTENT IN THIS CHAPTER
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

**4 MONTHS**

* * *

"Okay, I gonna make you a hundred omelettes, and _maybe_ I'll complaining every time you do the stupid vampire face on my pancakes," Bonnie grins, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she looks at the completed trampoline in the backyard.

"Well I had to celebrate your birthday somehow, right? Besides, it'll keep you from bugging me all day," Damon smirks, and Bonnie smacks his arm lightly.

"Shut up, you're the one that always comes looking for me," Bonnie retorts, still smiling and she's expecting a snarky response; instead Damon looks almost uncomfortable for a second before going back to nonchalance. Bonnie swallows, looking away abruptly and decides to focus her attention on the trampoline. "I'm going to try it out."

"Wait," Damon holds out an arm first, barring Bonnie and she turns her head to give him a questioning look. "I should test it, just to make sure nothing went wrong with building it."

Bonnie's lip twitches, it's a ridiculous request but she isn't about to miss an opportunity to watch Damon jump on a trampoline. "Go for it."

Damon takes off his shoes, climbing onto the trampoline and begins to jump; Bonnie's so close to laughing, watching Damon jump with his arms crossed and he looks almost stony-faced.

"So, am I good to join you?" Bonnie calls, biting the inside of her cheek. _Don't laugh. Don't laugh._ Damon nods shortly, and Bonnie kicks off her shoes so she can join; Damon gives her a hand, pulling her up onto the trampoline. "You need to loosen up, you look so stiff bouncing up there."

"I haven't exactly had a lot of experience on a trampoline."

Bonnie rolls her eyes and begins to jump, "It's about having fun, genius. You know, the stuff people do when they want to have a good time and be happy?"

Damon begins jumping again reluctantly, half-glaring at Bonnie but at least his arms are uncrossed now. Bonnie begins to bounce even higher, grinning and she wonders what everyone would think if they saw this, if they appeared in the backyard right now and found the two of them bouncing on a trampoline. A little bubble of laughter escapes her throat at the thought, and even Damon is actually smiling now and seems to be enjoying himself; she loses her balance, falling on her back and her shoulders shake with silent giggles.

Damon's face comes into view, smiling down on her and for a second she's transfixed, caught by the marble-like build of his face illuminated by the sharp sunlight; he's so unguarded, so beautiful in this moment. He holds out a hand, and it takes her a moment to register that he's offering to help her out; she grabs his hand, letting him pull her up and she stumbles a little, unconsciously placing her hands on his shoulders to steady herself.

"Sorry," Bonnie says, looking up at Damon and she's a little caught by the expression on his face, it almost reminds her of the Damon she saw in 1864, the one who looked so free and light. Bonnie takes an quick step back, removing her hands quickly from his shoulders with a soft smile. "Thank you for the birthday gift, Damon."

"Anything for you, Bonnie," Damon replies easily, his expression inscrutable and Bonnie's heart skips a beat, losing her breath for a second.

* * *

Damon approaches the cart, throwing some broccoli and corn into the cart as well; Bonnie's reading over some ingredient list for a dinner recipe, and absently places red onions in their grocery cart as they move slowly along the aisle.

"Where do you think the quinoa would be? I swear it was in this aisle," Bonnie frowns, and Damon makes a face.

"Hopefully nowhere, since it probably tastes as bland as it sounds," he retorts, and Bonnie shoots him a dirty look. He's certain that she's about to remark on his "picky" eating habits, but instead she stops short, immediately letting go of the cart; he knows the whispers are back, she always looks like she's caught in a trance when the come. Bonnie immediately starts walking in the opposite direction and Damon follows after her begrudgingly, always slightly annoyed at the abruptness Bonnie exhibits when the memories come, but still trails after her nonetheless.

He follows her round the corner of the aisle, realizing they're no longer in the grocery store, but rather in a small hut where a couple is talking to a matronly woman with dark hair. Bonnie walks over to them and Damon follows, noticing that the couple looks very nervous; the woman shifts slightly, revealing a pregnant belly and she's smoothing out her coily black hair.

"...raids in other villages nearby, we sent a couple scouts but they haven't returned. We have a few men on lookout, but it's hard to say whether these raiders will attack at night. However, it is wise to be alert, and I pray that our village only knows peace. Yara, Adric, I wish you a good night."

"Thank you for letting us know, Delfina. Have a good night, I pray that our village will escape the wrath of these raiders," the man, Adric replies bravely but the woman, Yara doesn't look any better. Delfina nods, leaving the hut and Yara whips around to face Adric with a terrified expression.

"They've found us. Adric, we have to leave tonight. It won't be long until they find me," Yara whimpers, rubbing her belly gently.

"Yara, my love...we have no proof that these raiders are looking for you. This coven...their master isn't even alive! Surely we can come to an agreement, if these raiders really are Silas's coven," Adric tries to reason, but Yara shakes her head firmly.

"Silas...the coven...they were in a memory before, right? It was a few centuries from now," Damon breathes, and Bonnie jumps, not realizing that Damon's standing so close to her.

"The agreement will only end with me and our child dead," Yara replies fiercely, "You've heard the stories, my whole life, I've been warned and told how _my own_ family was slaughtered out of vengeance! Silas's coven will not hesitate to do the same if I choose not to cooperate. If Silas walks again, he will kill me, I know it, he could not kill Qetsiyah but I've heard his vows: he will kill any member of Qetsiyah's family. Please, Adric, let us depart right away. For the sake of our family."

"There's that name again, Qetsiyah," Bonnie notes.

"Pack up our things, and we shall take the horse," Adric declares, pressing a tender kiss to Yara's hand.

"No, no, let us just take the gold and precious heirlooms. The rest...I will burn the house. Anything leftover could be used by Silas's coven, I won't take any chances," Yara replies firmly, and Adric nods, the two of them beginning to pack.

"Damon, this can't be a coincidence. They're talking about Silas and the coven, it's a pattern," Bonnie remarks, trying not to sound nervous.

"But they never found any of your ancestors after this, except Constance. You're telling me that it took them centuries to find a Bennett? They could've died out, it would've been easy considering they never actually found anyone," Damon argues.

"We don't know that! Constance said that the coven was locked out of locator spells, and they could've found the bodies of Bennetts later on, but there was probably no more blood left for them to use. Besides, there was no Internet either and the world is a big place, it would be difficult to track down one family."

"Which is why the coven probably died out. They sound deluded anyway, worshipping a dead man with a name like Silas," Damon sneers. He finds it hard to be intimidated by a bunch of lunatics, and really, how good can their coven be considering how long it took them to actually find a Bennett.

Damon hears a ringing in the distance, which must be a bad sign since Yara and Adric freeze for a moment, before quickly picking up the pace. They rush out the door quickly, Damon and Bonnie following them out; people are shouting in the distance, others peeking outside nervously to see what the commotion is.

Yara turns to her hut, narrowing her eyes, " _Incendia_!"

Fire sparks quickly, rushing to envelope the hut in its flames and Damon watches Yara step onto a horse with Adric, quickly rushing away as the yells of the other village members grow louder, intermingled with cries and shrieks.

"They left, just like that," Bonnie remarks, a hint of disbelief in her tone. Damon can't blame the couple, it's the safer option but of course if it were Bonnie, she'd stay to help.

"Yara was pregnant, if she stayed then I can't imagine that it would've ended well for her or the baby," Damon points out curtly.

"IF ANYONE RUNS AWAY, YOU WILL BE KILLED! EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD SHALL APPROACH TO ANSWER TO OUR COVEN!" a magnified voice echoes throughout the dark of the night. "COME, BE JUDGED BEFORE THE SERVANTS OF SILAS!"

"So it was Silas's coven, all the more reason for your ancestors to run. Imagine if they'd found her, it probably would've been be way worse than what happened with Constance and that crazy Nilus guy," Damon reasons, trying to reassure Bonnie.

"Yeah, it was good that they left now," she replies, not really listening. Damon suspects she isn't convinced by his words, but he'll be damned if he lets anything happen to Bonnie.

* * *

"The third Star Wars movie was the best, don't even deny it," Bonnie says, laying down a pillow with her feet tucked against Damon's thighs as they watch the end credits roll for the first Star Wars movie.

"No way, you have no taste, the second one was the best!" Damon exclaims, and Bonnie sits up on the couch to look at Damon properly.

"It's second for a reason, because it's second best!"

"You are so full of shit, that's not how it works."

Bonnie laughs, "Is there some sort of secret strategy as to how it works?! Deep down, you know that I'm right, you just can't handle the fact that you're wrong. You should try improving your taste, it might do you some good. You know, open your eyes and see the truth."

Bonnie had just meant it as a joke, but is rather surprised when Damon goes quiet and studies her expression, and she stares right back, her head cocked slightly in bewilderment, "Let's play truth or dare."

Bonnie blinks, stunned by the subject change, "What? Right now?"

"Yeah, right now. Truth or dare?"

"Um, okay. I guess I'll go with truth."

"Have...have you ever been attracted to me? Ever thought about kissing me, or something like that?" he asks lightly, and Bonnie stares at him, flabbergasted. A mix of emotions swirl inside her, fighting for dominance but she sits paralyzed to her spot.

"I…I, um..."

"It's a simple question. Have you?" Damon asks again, sounding almost bored but Bonnie can see it in his eyes, she can tell he's being serious. He wants to know.

"Yeah, I have," Bonnie breathes out, tucking her trembling hands under her thighs, shifting to sit on her knees. She feels mortified, pinned in place by his insistent gaze; he's probably going to start laughing at her any second now, or begin relentlessly tease her.

"Interesting."

Is it her imagination, or is Damon moving closer and closer towards her?

"Is it? I wouldn't use that word."

"What word would you use instead?" Damon asks, now sitting right in front of her. He appears to be trying not to smirk, clearly he has her right where he wants her.

"I...I don't…" Bonnie trails off, her attention caught by Damon's hands brushing against her neck, resting on her shoulders. He presses a small kiss behind her ear, moving towards her jaw and presses another one there; she shuts her eyes for a moment, savouring the light kisses that seem to be purposely avoiding her lips.

"You still haven't answered the question," Damon murmurs playfully, kissing her cheekbone gently and her eyes flutter open.

"You still haven't kissed me properly, so I don't see why I should answer," Bonnie remarks, trying not to sound too needy; in all honesty, she's starting to feel like she's going to die if he keeps teasing her like this.

"I haven't kissed you properly? What counts as kissing you properly?" Bonnie can hear the mischief in Damon's voice, and he places a light kiss in the crook of her neck. "Does that count? Or maybe this one would work better." He kisses her again right on the curve of her jaw, she can see him smiling triumphantly.

"Damon, please, just kiss me," Bonnie exclaims harshly, all her patience gone and left with the need for him to _finally_ kiss her. He slides a hand up into her hair, leaning in slowly and she can see flecks of grey in his eyes, her breath stilling for a second as his lips meet hers.

The kiss is so tender and gentle that it takes Bonnie by surprise, but she kisses him back hungrily. She knows he's kissed hundreds of girls, but she never imagined that he'd ever be this gentle, especially not with her. She raises her shaking hands, placing them around his neck and this seems to spur him into trailing sloppy kisses down her neck, causing Bonnie to gasp and hold in a whimper.

"Stop, stop," Bonnie moans, and Damon leans back reluctantly, drinking in her appearance with half-lidded eyes. "I'm not doing this down here. Upstairs now."

Damon nods, both of them standing up and he makes a move to kiss her again; Bonnie dodges it, grinning slyly and quickly walks out of the room, sparing Damon a glance and notices a predatory look in his eyes, excitement building in the pit of her stomach.

She walks quickly to the stairs, already halfway up when she feels Damon's hand curl around her wrist and she turns around, kissing him roughly. They continue kissing up the stairs, Bonnie's one step ahead so she's tall enough to reach Damon's lips, his hands digging into her hips. Bonnie feels as if she's on fire, heat spreading throughout her body and Damon's touch only electrifies her, drawing raw desire out of her, something that Bonnie's never experienced before. They reach the upstairs landing, Damon almost slamming Bonnie against the wall if his hands weren't cradling her head and holding her waist tenderly.

"You...you have no idea how much I've wanted this, Bon," Damon rasps, now kissing the curve of Bonnie's neck as she whimpers softly. "You taste... _so good_ , you know that?"

Bonnie closes her eyes in ecstasy, her mouth dropping a little as Damon continues to ravish her neck with kisses, still whispering all sorts of things that make her knees go weak. Damon moves her into their bedroom, Bonnie moving backward until she hits their bed; she feels Damon's hands at the hem of her shirt, and she raises her arms to let him take it off. She glances down at her bra, feeling a little self-conscious until Damon captures her mouth with a hot kiss. She kisses him back eagerly, her chin digging into his as she quickly unbuttons his shirt.

Damon lays her down on the bed, hovering over her and begins to press chaste kisses on her chest; Bonnie groans with pleasure, arching her back as he begins to move lower and lower with each kiss. She can feel him unbuttoning her jeans and sits up to help him, pulling them down herself and kicks them off, throwing them away without a care. She kisses him again, their tongues entwining and she can feel him reach around her back, taking off her bra and she reaches down to unzip Damon's pants.

" _Damon_...I hate you...I hate you, I hate you…" Bonnie rasps as Damon goes back to kissing her neck, giving her love bites and she slips a hand into his underwear. They both know she doesn't mean it, it's like a natural reflex for her to say that. As much as she'd like to deny it, she stopped hating him awhile ago.

* * *

Damon opens his eyes slowly, groaning softly and shifts a little but quickly stiffens as he realizes Bonnie is pressed up against him; they'd been cuddling together while asleep, and he slowly removes his arm from her torso, their legs tangled together under the sheets. She's wearing one of his black button-up shirts, she'd complained about being cold last night and had picked up the article of clothing closest to her. He slides away from her slowly, propping himself up on one hand to look at Bonnie properly; she's still fast asleep, a tiny smile gracing her face and her hair is mussed from last night. She moves onto her back with a slight groan, her shirt slipping a little; she hasn't buttoned his shirt up, exposing the curve of her breast and Damon looks away sharply. Even if they did have sex last night, it doesn't feel right to leer at her while she's asleep.

Normally after having sex, Damon would wake the girl up with kisses or light caresses but it just seems like all the wrong things to do with Bonnie. He has no idea where they stand, for all he knows she could wake up and immediately jump into some long-winded lecture about how last night was a mistake. So, the first thing he's going to do is go downstairs, get something small to eat before going on his run; that should give Bonnie plenty of time to mull things over.

Damon gets out of bed slowly, pulling back the covers on Bonnie and goes over to the walk-in closet, picking out some boxer briefs and shorts to put on; he heads to the bedroom door, slipping out quietly and heads downstairs. He's used to the quiet by now, it's usually comforting but he can't tell if he finds it relieving or suffocating at the moment.

He opens the fridge, taking out a jug of orange juice and an apple; he pours himself a glass, half-listening for any creek of a floorboard upstairs, any sign that Bonnie may wake up. Damon knows he's totally fucked now, things are officially complicated between him and Bonnie. He's supposed to be the third point in a triangle, destined to love doppelgängers but all he can think about is Bonnie, how sweet she tasted, the feeling of her body against his and how tight she felt when he was inside her.

Damon has never been a patient man, he doesn't give anything much thought but this feels like a possible emotional stake to the heart. He's mastered the art of self-sabotage, his feelings for Bonnie might as well be the latest development; it's a talent, really, the fact that he can manage to find some way to inconvenience himself. Damon realizes with a pang of nervousness that he can hear Bonnie coming down the stairs and he tries to adjust his stance, hoping for a semblance of looking casual. Bonnie comes into the kitchen, rubbing her face groggily and stops short when she sees Damon, giving him a slightly nervous smile.

"Hey, good morning," Bonnie greets him, and Damon notices she's still in his shirt but has slipped on a pair of shorts.

"Hey," Damon nods, watching as Bonnie moves to grab something from the fridge, "Did you sleep okay? You weren't too cold, were you?"

Bonnie chuckles a little, adjusting her shirt, "No, I was fine. I never realized how comfortable your shirts are, I don't know if I want to take it off."

Damon silently agrees that she should never take it off, something about her looking disheveled in his clothes is particularly enticing but he isn't about to say that out loud. "I forgot to ask, where did you get the condoms from? Were you prepared for this ahead of time?"

Damon wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, and Bonnie snorts amusedly, "Yeah, no. I found them a while ago, in the nightstand next to the bed. Right place, right time I guess."

"So...is this the part where you say it was a mistake or you regret it?"

"What? No, I..." Bonnie stops short, shutting her eyes for a moment and Damon realizes the voices have come back again. She opens her eyes with a tense sigh, walking over to Damon and grabs his hand to lead to wherever they're supposed to go. "I can't go into this right now, but it was definitely not a mistake or a regret. I knew what I was doing, and I did it because I wanted to."

Bonnie slants a glance at him, and he can see the earnestness written all over her face; he feels a wave of relief wash over him, and Bonnie pulls him to the front door, which swings open immediately, leading to an open field rather than the front yard. They step outside into the field, which is actually a valley surrounded by many lush trees and a sunset casting an orange glow across the sky.

Two women appear in front of them, one young and the other quite old; the young woman in a thin cotton dress with dark skin, piercing hazel eyes and black curls piled into a bun on her head. The other woman looks quite old and frail, with wrinkles and lines adorning her face, but her dark eyes are alert and sharp.

"You alright, Tita? I think it's best we just stay here, we don't want to go too far from home," the young woman suggests tentatively.

"I'm fine, Tayanna. It's nice enough to see the sunset one last time, to feel Nature before I pass over," the old woman breathes in the fresh air, clearly relishing it and the young woman, Tayanna merely frowns.

"Stop speaking like that. You have plenty of life, Tita, it's not over for you. You're the most powerful witch in the world, you faced Silas and put him down, created a cure for-"

"Sweet girl, if I really was the most powerful witch in the world, I wouldn't have lost my powers. Your mother told you about the sacrifices I had to make, the people that I lost," the old woman admonishes gently, but Tayanna doesn't seem convinced.

"Damon...I think this old woman might be Qetsiyah," Bonnie whispers, "They're talking about Silas, Tayanna said she faced Silas and we know that Qetsiyah knew Silas personally."

"I have taught you and your siblings everything they need to know to stay safe. My children are protected, and I am ready to join your Jadd in peace. Your magic is already so strong, I pray that it continues to grow," the old woman smiles.

"Tita, I am nowhere close to being like you, Qetsiyah, the most powerful witch of her family. I'm not even as strong as Maut," Tayanna points out. So the old woman is Qetsiyah, Damon notes, clearly she has a family but Silas is nowhere to be seen.

"All my children have been trained to be strong, Tayanna. I swore to never let Silas's men touch my family again. I learn from my mistakes, and I wanted to ensure my family has learned from them as well," Qetsiyah explains, grabbing Tayanna's hands and patting them reassuringly. "Promise me one thing, before I pass over?"

Tayanna smiles, "I know what you're going to say, Tita. You know I never would use dark magic, not after what happened to your sister and parents."

"I know you wouldn't, but promise me you'll stay safe. If you even hear a rumour that someone is looking for you, that anyone is looking for our family then run. Take anyone you can with you, promise me. Take care of each other, and _never get caught._ If you must hide in the smallest and darkest corner of the earth, then do it."

"Tita…"

Qetsiyah's clutching her granddaughter's hands tightly now. " _Promise me_. I could not bear it if another member of our family was cut down, used and killed like pigs to the slaughter."

"I won't, I promise. I will guard our family with my life," Tayanna vows, and Qetsiyah smiles, patting Tayanna's cheek lightly.

"Good, good. Let us enjoy nature, and then we'll head back to your mother," Qetsiyah replies easily, turning to face the sun.

Bonnie turns to face Damon, an uneasy look on her face, "It all has to do with Qetsiyah."

"What are you talking about?" Damon asks sharply, unlinking his and Bonnie's hands to cross his arms skeptically.

"Qetsiyah...being around her, I feel so connected, I know she's my family but the pull is so strong. This is it, Damon. I think I was meant to find her, the memories are meant to see what happened between her and Silas," Bonnie explains, but Damon shakes his head sharply.

"You don't know that."

"But I can feel it. I may not have my magic anymore, but I know it in my gut. The memories wanted me to find Qetsiyah. She's the only real consistency, her and Silas."

"I don't like where that leaves you," Damon admits angrily. "Us being stuck here, witnessing all these memories and you being Qetsiyah's last descendant. I don't want to think about the position you're in if it means that you're some pawn in a game that we don't understand. Remember what I said, about nothing happening to you?"

"Do you think I want to believe this? Being collateral damage is nothing new to me, I was having a perfectly good time with you before I realizing that my life is probably in danger _again_. But it's a reality we might have to face, so there's no point in denying it," Bonnie counters harshly, and turns away from him pointedly.

Damon runs a hand over his face frustratedly; this morning, he thought his biggest problem would be figuring out things with Bonnie, and now here they are, debating over whether she's going to be killed by some guy and his psycho cult. Damon approaches Bonnie carefully, tentatively placing a hand on her shoulder. She makes no move to turn around and face him, but he's at least somewhat relieved when he feels a hand grip his tightly. Damon's never really believed in any sort of god, but he finds himself praying that Bonnie will be safe for once.

* * *

**4 ½ MONTHS**

* * *

Bonnie blinks slowly, a heavy weight resting around her torso and she realizes that Damon's arm is wrapped around her, her hand loosely touching his arm. It's a little mortifying, she can't help but wonder if this has happened before, usually Damon is up before her so it's totally possible; yet the intimacy is comforting, she can't recall the last time that she slept so close to someone besides Damon, but that's not why she's awake. Something pulled her out of her sleep, calling for her to wake up and so she did. Bonnie carefully moves Damon's arm off of her, shifting to sit up in bed and rubs her eyes lazily, gasping when she lowers her hands at the scene before her.

Her and Damon are no longer in their bedroom, but rather in a large room built out of stone and marble; people that look like servants bustle in and out, carrying bags and it would be more of a shock for Bonnie if she didn't already know that they were practically invisible. Bonnie pats Damon quickly, still examining the scene in front of her and hears him grumble roughly.

"Why the fuck are you waking me up?" Damon groans, and Bonnie waits patiently for his reaction; she can hear Damon shifting to sit up properly, letting out a yelp of surprise as he too realizes they're in a memory.

Bonnie slides out of bed, her eyes flickering around the room and she can hear Damon getting out of bed as well. Two women enter the room, other servants trailing behind and Bonnie can automatically tell that these two are different from the rest; both of them look quite alike, each quite beautiful in their own way. One of them has jet-black hair styled into intricate braids cascading down a white sheath dress with golden robes, her dark eyes are soft; Bonnie's never seen this woman before, but she feels so familiar to Bonnie, there's something about her that feels so comforting and warm. The other woman seems to be younger by a couple years, she's also dressed in a white sheath dress with silver robes, her jet-black hair is in a braided ponytail, her piercing hazel eyes are alight with excitement.

"Oh, you worry too much!" the younger one says to the other woman, their arms linked. "Think of the beauty you will soon know once you are married, the little children that I will get to visit. You must not fuss, I expect it'll be a lovely ceremony."

"Zuma, is it so bad that I am worried to meet my betrothed? Maut and Ift-i have told me almost nothing, only of his power as a witch and a telepath. What good is power? I have enough for myself, I do not see why I need a husband for that," the other woman snaps, and the younger one, Zuma turns to face her sister, grabbing her hands gently with a suggestive smile.

"Oh Qetsiyah, it's about finding someone to love, someone to cherish. Must you always be so...you?" Zuma giggles, and Bonnie and Damon exchange startled looks. This Qetsiyah looks very different from the old woman they'd seen on the hill with Tayanna, somehow this one seems more content and carefree. Bonnie doesn't see this as a good sign.

"I don't even know my betrothed, this...Silas," Qetisyah waves her hand dismissively, and Bonnie's jaw drops. The way everyone had talked in past memories, she'd thought that Silas and Qetsiyah had been enemies. "There is no guarantee that I shall love this man, look at Maut and Ift-i! What proof is there that _they_ even love each other?"

"Qetsiyah," Zuma warns her quietly, jutting her head to two people that have also entered the room.

Bonnie realizes these must be the people they were referring to, Qetsiyah's talking about her parents. The mother looks very presumptuous and cold, like a marble statue with her hair in a high bun; her dark eyes immediately flicker to her daughters, sauntering over calmly as the silver beads of her necklace bounce against the beige fabric of her dress. The father has a polished beard but no hair on his head, he's dressed in a grey tunic with silver accents, his eyes narrow in on Qetsiyah and Zuma too; both girls bow their heads to their parents, and press a gentle kiss to each of their cheeks.

"Maut, Ift-i," Qetsiyah and Zuma murmur as a greeting.

"Hello, my dears. The servants are nearly done packing. How do you feel, Qetsiyah?" their mother asks, but Bonnie notices her tone is formal and cold, as if she's talking to an acquaintance instead of her own daughter.

"I'm not sure how to feel. We still have a long journey ahead, it'll be months before I meet my betrothed," Qetsiyah replies politely, but Bonnie can detect a hint of resentment in her tone. Bonnie can't blame her, being married off sounds like a nightmare; worse, the memories seem to imply that the marriage doesn't end up working out.

"Well, it'll all be well worth it when you meet Silas. There is no doubt in my mind, this marriage will be a blessing for you, Qetsiyah. Your seventeenth name day has already passed, a ripe age for marriage," her father explains, but Bonnie thinks it sounds more like an order rather than a reassurance. "Perhaps we should see if it is time to depart."

The four of them leave the room, and Bonnie turns to face Damon, "I can't believe Qetsiyah and Silas were engaged...the way everyone in the other memories talked, I thought for sure they were enemies or something."

"Well, we know it didn't work out, something clearly went wrong. Qetsiyah said that Silas hurt her family, I can't see why she would say that to her own granddaughter if they were happily married," Damon points out. "Maybe Silas was a cheater or something, and that's why Qetsiyah didn't marry him."

"I don't know, was monogamy even a big deal back then? She doesn't even seem excited to marry Silas, I can't see why another woman would make her upset, if anything maybe she'd be happy since Silas wouldn't focus as much of his attention on her," Bonnie ponders, barely noticing the grey ash chipping away at the memory, going back to their bedroom. "What would be bad enough for them to go from being engaged to enemies?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So obviously I wasn't going to have Qetsiyah just say "Mom" or "Dad," I wanted to try and stay accurate to the "memories." It's basically a mix of Arabic terms and some might be a variation of terms from the Ancient Egyptian language (it's been extinct for awhile, so obviously it's not accurate) but I thought I'd clarify for anyone wondering:
> 
> Maut: Mother  
> Ift-i: Father  
> Tita: Grandmother  
> Jadd: Grandfather
> 
> Thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated! Next chapter will be up in a week to a month. A lot happened in this chapter! Are we happy with the bamon action? How are we feeling about Silas and Qetsiyah?


	9. CHAPTER 8: Somewhere Only We Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from the song "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane. Happy reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

"You're thinking too hard," Damon says, scanning Bonnie's face with a shrewd expression and hands her a glass of sweet tea. Bonnie had gone outside to jump around on the trampoline like an overzealous child, until she got tired and laid down like a star; her cheeks were flaming with laboured breaths, when Damon had come out with some refreshments for her to drink.

"What makes you think I'm thinking about anything?" Bonnie asks innocently, her eyes widening with fake confusion as she sits up but Damon gives her a disbelieving look. "Fine, I was just thinking about Qetsiyah and her family, that's all."

"Mhmm, what about it?"

"I didn't realize it at the time, but when the old Qetsiyah was talking to Tayanna, she mentioned that something bad happened to her sister and parents or that Silas's men hurt them, maybe both. I was thinking, what if it was a feud between families, something set off a fight?" Bonnie suggests pensively.

"Sounds a little too Romeo and Juliet but yeah, that's possible. Maybe it was Silas who actually started the fight, didn't they say he could read minds? It would be easy for him to tell that something's wrong."

"Right, that makes sense."

"You know, maybe he saw that Qetsiyah didn't want to marry him, and he got offended or something. He must be really obnoxious if he has his own cult," Damon comments, and Bonnie laughs. "I forgot to tell you, before you apprehended me with your loud thinking-"

"You're so dramatic, that's not a thi-"

"Before your brain attacked me," Bonnie gives Damon a look, which he pointedly ignores, "I was going to say...I found the poem that my mother liked so much, 'A Red, Red Rose.'"

"Oh, was that the other thing you brought out here?" Bonnie asks curiously, and Damon steps onto the trampoline, sitting down with a book in hand. Bonnie lies back down on the trampoline, her hands resting on her stomach as the sunlight kisses her skin.

"Here, I'll read it for you," Damon announces, bouncing slightly as he shifts, flipping through the book.

"Would it be too far-fetched to assume the poem is about love?" Bonnie remarks, but Damon just does his stupid smizing at her and begins to read.

"O my love's like a red, red rose/ That's newly sprung in June/ O my love's like the melody/ That's sweetly played in tune/ As fair art thou, my bonnie lass," Bonnie smiles at the mention of her name, even if it's in a different context. "So deep in love am I/ And I will love you still, my dear/ Till all the seas go dry/ Till all the seas go dry, my dear/ And the rocks melt with the sun/ I will love thee still, my dear/ While the sands of life shall run/ And fare thee well, my only love/ And fare thee well, a while/ And I will come again, my love/ Though it were ten thousand miles."

Bonnie's staring at the clear blue sky, taking in the words silently and then her eyes flicker over to Damon's expectant look, "I can see why your mom liked it so much, it's a beautiful poem."

"Apparently it was meant to be more of a song, but I think it's still like a poem."

"Hmm, interesting. I guess it wouldn't be too much of a leap to say that it's about love."

"My mother used to say that it meant that love is always constant, it never dies out and lives on forever," Damon explains casually, and Bonnie looks back up at the sky, letting out a hum of agreement and avoids Damon's gaze.

They still haven't discussed the fact that they had sex, and Bonnie is secretly grateful that the conversation hasn't come up. It wasn't like the sex was bad, it had actually been _really_ good in a mind-blowing sort of way but Damon had been her first. She'd rather not tell him that, especially considering the fact that she's probably just one notch out of hundreds of other girls.

It doesn't help either that they've always had an uneasy history, she's supposed to be disgusted by him and he should be thoroughly uninterested in anything to do with her unless it suits him. Nonetheless, sometimes she catches herself staring at Damon's lips, wondering if he'd let her kiss him again or whether she'd get the chance to feel his body pressed against hers again. But she always stops herself, pushing away those thoughts, there's no use in causing more trouble for herself, continuing down this tumultuous path with Damon. She always reminds herself of her life back in Mystic Falls, letting it be the cold dose of reality that she needs to stop from thinking about Damon.

And yet, Bonnie's love for the little slice of heaven where her and Damon live grows more and more as each day goes on; she no longer tries to just get through the days, instead enjoying and savouring the peace and contentment she feels in her heart. She doesn't want _this_ to end. Maybe she shouldn't feel this way, but she's happy and is it so bad that she's found that with Damon? She still misses her dad and Lucy and her friends, but another part of her is determined keep this one good thing for herself as long as she can, she's not ready to let go of the life she's building with Damon.

* * *

Damon's once again caught off-guard by a new memory, he and Bonnie were bringing in their groceries, the two of them stepped outside to get the last couple bags and ended up somewhere else. Bonnie's been having trouble sensing them lately, she can't seem to pinpoint when they'll come and it's slightly unsettling to just walk into one with no warning.

It's a relief at least that the memories themselves aren't violent or hostile; currently, Damon and Bonnie are standing at the edge of what appeared to be a village in Ancient Greece, with white houses and towering columns built around luscious gardens and clean courtyards. A congregation of people are chattering excitedly at the entrance of the village, clearly waiting in anticipation for something or mostly likely someone.

"Maybe they're waiting for Qetsiyah, Silas is a Greek name, right? He could be one of the guys here," Bonnie suggests thoughtfully.

"I think we're about to find out," Damon juts his chin towards the approaching carriages, a hush growing over the crowd. The third carriage slows to a stop in front of the crowd, and Damon and Bonnie walk to the other side of the road for a better look; Damon notices a man with dark hair at the front of the crowd straighten up, his eyes gleaming with impatience.

The carriage opens, and the first people that come out are Qetsiyah's parents, adorned in white robes with laurel wreaths made of silver. They bow their heads in greeting, and a middle-aged man with dark hair steps forward to greet them.

"Akil, Gamila, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, after many months of correspondence. I am Erastus, representative of our coven's council...where are your lovely daughters?" Erastus asks politely, and right on cue, Qetsiyah and her sister step out; like their parents, both are in white robes with laurel wreaths, their hair in soft ringlets. Qetsiyah's sister, Zuma seems a lot more excited to be there, looking around quickly with a grin on her face; Qetsiyah doesn't seem to have the same attitude, looking anxious and almost haughty.

"This must be the lovely Qetsiyah, and your other daughter, Zuma. It's wonderful to finally meet you, Qetsiyah, I have heard many great things about your magic. May I?" Erastus extends a palm, and Qetsiyah places her hand gingerly on his with a timid expression; Erastus shuts his eyes for a moment, inhaling sharply.

"What's he doing? It looks like he's reading her or something," Bonnie asks.

Damon squints, looking closer, "I think he is, actually. It's a witch thing...I knew a witch that could read people's power, maybe that's what he's doing. It takes years to perfect, it's not easy but it's helpful. If he's part of a coven's council, then he'd probably need to be pretty powerful."

"Doesn't that mean he could take her power, though?"

"Yeah, it's possible but it wouldn't look like this, it'd be more volatile. If this guy Erastus was trying to take some of her magic, Qetsiyah would probably be putting up a fight."

Erastus lets go of Qetsiyah's hand, his eyes bright, "Amazing. So young, but so much power...you are lucky to be so blessed. And now, it's only fair that I introduce you to your betrothed, Silas."

The man with dark hair steps forward, his eyes drinking in Qetsiyah hungrily; she stares back at him calmly, but there's a pink tinge across her cheeks, "I'm pleased to finally meet you, Silas. I look forward to the day of our union, when our two families will merge into one coven."

"I look forward to that day as well. The council told me of your beauty and skill, they have not exaggerated. I look forward to making your acquaintance in the following days, and the forever that we will get to spend together," Silas says smoothly, giving Qetsiyah a charming smile.

"Let us show you around our village, become acquainted with our coven and discuss our plans for the union," Erastus interjects, gesturing to the walkway into the village.

Qetsiyah's parents go ahead with Erastus, followed by Qetsiyah and her sister; Damon notices Zuma give her sister a hopeful smile, jutting her head back to Silas trailing behind them. The rest of the group follows, murmuring excitedly.

"That Silas seems like a tool," Damon comments, his arms folded and glances at Bonnie, who seems to be deep in thought.

"Something's not right about him," Bonnie finally declares, and Damon snorts.

"Well, obviously we know something's not right with Silas, if his crazy followers are any indication."

"Well, he seemed really excited that Qetsiyah was there, but it doesn't seem like they even got married...if he can read minds, wouldn't he already have everything he needs to know from their first meeting?"

"I'm not going to pretend like I understand a cult leader, but _obviously_ we know something went wrong between them. We just don't know who took the first shot at the other."

* * *

**4 ¾ MONTHS**

* * *

Bonnie hums along to the music playing from the CD player, letting the warm sun ravish her skin. The weather has been so nice and warm lately, even though by her calculations, it should actually be quite cold out still. Nonetheless, the nice weather is a bonus and of course, the day feels a little brighter; she's on a blanket in the front yard, since the backyard is all shaded now and no one else is around. The only real creep that can bother her is Damon; the front door opens and slams shut, footsteps descending the porch and her eyes flicker to a pleasantly-smiling Damon.

"If you're coming out to annoy me, do it quietly please," Bonnie says, immediately recognizing the smile as the one he usually makes when he wants to bug her. She knows it's out of a mix of loneliness and boredom for him, but that doesn't make it any less vexing.

"What's the fun in that?" he inquires, still standing and Bonnie sits up, eyeing him exasperatedly.

"Why can't you just talk to me like a normal person, or sit here silently, enjoy nature? It might actually do you some good, same with the whole black and leather attire you wear. Have you considered wearing something any other colour?"

"This argument again? Last time I tried on a blue shirt, you were clearly trying not to laugh!"

"It was just really weird to see you in that colour!" Bonnie protests, but she's trying not to grin and Damon shakes his head, looking almost affectionate. "Maybe a nice beige sweater would work, or a light grey? Brown wouldn't be too bad either."

"You're making me feel like a Ken doll."

"Well, Ken dolls usually have naturally straight blonde hair."

"I may not be blonde, but my hair is naturally straight."

Bonnie smiles, shaking her head, "I saw you in 1864, your hair was clearly wavy. Also, I know you straighten your hair. That's why you take so long in the bathroom."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh please, I've already known for two months, you're not convincing me of anything, "Bonnie snorts, and Damon shoots her a dirty look. "You should leave it wavy one day."

"Why? So you can die from laughing too hard? I don't think so," Damon snaps, and Bonnie tries to suppress her giggles.

Bonnie suddenly stiffens, tuning into the whispers that have arrived; she strains to listen, trying to discern what they're saying. It's so close to being clear now, one little push and she'll know exactly what the whispers are trying to tell her. The urge to know is almost addicting, it's like a rush that she just has to follow; the feeling of being called, being propelled forward is so strange yet almost powerful, like a breath of fresh air. She doesn't understand why the allure is so enticing, but all she can comprehend is that it's about Qetsiyah, she's the one that the memories want Bonnie to find. Bonnie gets up from the blanket, in a daze and she walks up the porch steps slowly, tugging open the door and steps inside.

Unsurprisingly, she isn't in her house, but instead a wide courtyard with luscious flowers and grand marble columns towering overhead. There are people walking around the courtyard or sitting on a bench, talking and laughing as they smooth out their chitons and robes, delicate wreaths resting on their heads; some are even practicing magic, children shrieking in delight as flowers magically bloom or fly through the air. Bonnie can't help but smile widely, watching hyacinths and daffodils float slowly to the ground; it makes her feel a little closer to magic, and it reminds Bonnie of how magic can be beautiful. She's always used it as a weapon, a powerful asset for a fight but she's never really had the chance to use it for any other purposes.

"Look," Damon nudges her, pointing at two people in the distance; Bonnie squints a little, realizing it's Qetsiyah and Zuma. Like the people around them, they're dressed in a chiton and robe except it's a rich purple instead of white; four men trail behind them, dressed in armour and carrying spears.

"Isn't this place exquisite? I've never seen flowers like these back home," Zuma points out, slowly approaching where Bonnie and Damon are standing.

"It is quite lovely, this whole courtyard," Qetsiyah agrees casually, observing the laughing children chasing flowers. She then places her hands around a blooming flower, shutting her eyes for a moment.

Bonnie thinks Qetsiyah's just going to help the flower grow, but is instead surprised to see pale purple flower petals falling from the sky. Bonnie looks around in awe, watching as the petals drift to the ground; she can vaguely hear other people exclaim in surprise, some laughing delightedly and they're all subtly glancing over at Qetsiyah with surprise.

"She didn't even have to chant or anything," Bonnie remarks, glancing at Damon who's also watching the petals fall with surprise.

"They said she was powerful, I wouldn't be surprised if this is basically pre-school level for Qetsiyah," he responds.

"Your magic is always so amazing when it comes to beauty, even I cannot make flowers bloom like you do," Zuma tells Qetsiyah affectionately, beaming and Qetsiyah waves a dismissive hand.

"Don't be silly, your strengths just lie elsewhere, you're a gifted witch," she protests, and Bonnie can see Silas approaching the two girls quietly, another man lingering behind him.

"But not like you, you're the only witch I know that could create something so beautiful."

"Your sister is right about that, this is very extraordinary magic," Silas says smoothly, making the sisters jump in surprise. Bonnie can't deny that Silas is a looker with his unruly dark hair, high cheekbones and twinkling hazel eyes but there's something lurking underneath that charm. "I was hoping I could have a moment alone with my betrothed."

"Oh! Of course, of course! I shall see you later, Qetsiyah," Zuma replies hastily, giving Qetsiyah a sly smile before hurrying away. Two of the guards part away from the group, hastily walking after Zuma.

"Your sister is very pleased that you and I are talking alone, she seems very happy to be here," Silas comments, smiling pleasantly.

Qetsiyah looks surprised, before recognition settles in her gaze, "Ah, yes, I forgot about your telepathy. Well, Zuma finds this all very exciting, being in this new place, meeting all these new people and getting to witness our union. It must be quite a skill to have, being able to read people's thoughts...does it ever get overwhelming?"

"When I was younger, it was difficult to control. Telepathy for me is different, it's not as simple as hearing a thought. When people are particularly emotional about something, it's easier to know what they're thinking. Going deeper into the mind, seeing the context behind their thoughts is trickier and requires more effort. Normally, it can be quite useful when I need it to be, but it's stumping me at the moment. For some reason, I can't seem to read your thoughts."

Bonnie frowns, a little baffled by Silas's confession; there's a possibility that he's lying, but at the same time Bonnie can't see much motivation for that. Why would he admit it anyway, is it a way of getting Qetsiyah to let her guard down?

"Really? I promise you, I'm not blocking you out, I don't even know how it would work to block out a telepath...but I suppose it's a bit of a blessing, that my soon-to-be husband can't see my thoughts," Qetsiyah smiles, and so does Silas, but it's more tense than easygoing.

"Well, I suppose it must be your magic. Nonetheless, I was hoping to discuss our future, the plans I have for us both."

"What did you have in mind?" Qetsiyah smiles, looking a little bashful and the two of them sit down on a bench.

"This seems pretty formal if it's just a conversation about kids," Damon murmurs to Bonnie, both of them standing right in front of the couple.

"Maybe...maybe it's about something else," Bonnie whispers, her eyes flickering between Silas and Qetsiyah in anticipation.

"Qetsiyah, my love, there is no one else I would rather marry. But I don't want to part from you, from this world or ever leave you too early. I have seen my own parents, friends from my coven who have perished, that Death has taken for his own collection. I wish to be free from Death, to be beyond his bounds without relying on anyone else for that freedom. I want that for you as well," Silas explains.

"Silas, what are you saying?" Qetsiyah asks hesitantly.

"I...I want us to become immortal, so that we can never die or be killed. We are the most powerful witches of our two covens, we may end up on the council but I don't see why we should stop there. I've done extensive research, completed the necessary steps but I confess, your magic is a crucial key, a powerful conduit for the spell. We can be together forever this way, we could be unstoppable, no one can ever hurt us and this ritual will guarantee that. Why should our legacy be so limited? Why not make it eternal?"

"I see. May I ask, how have you prepared the ritual? I did not realize that traditional magic catered to the wish of becoming immortal."

"I have consulted other branches of magic, ones that offer us more power. I have made the necessary sacrifices, it amounts to little in the grand scheme of things. Apparently, it's called Expression."

Qetsiyah's eyes widen in shock, but she manages to give Silas a curious smile. Bonnie vaguely remembers Constance's memory, how Expression is known as one of the most turbulent branches of dark magic.

"When do you wish to conduct this ritual, Silas?"

"In two days, at dawn. I want us together forever, to start our empire as soon as possible," Silas declares firmly, staring at Qetsiyah so intently that his eyes almost look

"Two days...yes, that sounds absolutely wonderful."

"Really? You want to be immortal with me?"

"That is my wish, my treasure," Qetsiyah replies reverently, but her eyes are troubled. Silas doesn't seem to notice, taking her hand and pressing a gentle kiss to it. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

"I do require something of yours...your blood. Of course, we'll perform the ritual together, but I'll need it to prepare for the spell."

"I'll give it to you tomorrow morning. Does that work?"

This seems to surprise Silas a little, but he smiles, looking extremely pleased, "Of course, I look forward to seeing you then. Unfortunately, I have other business to attend to, but I shall see you soon. This will be our secret, _no one_ must know."

For a second, Bonnie sees something ugly lurking underneath Silas's expression, but it's quickly covered up by a charming smile and Qetsiyah returns it with an obedient nod.

"Of course, I understand. Tell me in due time, what I must do."

"Good," Silas stands up, calling to someone. "Come along, Demosthenes! Let us return to our work!"

The man following Silas before comes rushing forward, joining Silas and the two of them walk away in the opposite direction; Bonnie barely notices them leaving, only focused on Qetsiyah's troubled expression.

"That guy, Demosthenes or whatever, he looked really familiar…" Damon frowns, and Bonnie turns to face him with a grave expression. "What is it?"

"Were you not listening? Silas wants to become immortal, which is really, really bad."

"How is that bad? So the guy doesn't want to die, big deal."

"You're forgetting that vampires haven't been created yet, and even they aren't invincible. They can still be killed by sunlight, a wooden stake, getting your heart or head removed. Silas said he didn't want to rely on anyone, he wanted to be immortal AND indestructible. Not to mention he's using Expression, which is clearly dark magic. This must've been where it went wrong for them, I don't think Qetsiyah's actually on board with the idea,'' Bonnie comments.

"So you think she'll double-cross him? I mean, she still agreed to do it, but maybe he double-crossed her? He sounded kinda power-hungry to me."

"But he wants her to do the spell, Silas said so himself that he needs her. He needs power, and with them together, he'll have what he wants."

"But she wasn't immortal, right? We saw her as an old woman, she said so herself that she was going to die soon. Doesn't seem like an all-powerful immortal woman to me."

"Silas couldn't read her thoughts, so it's possible that she lied to him. They're part of a coven of witches, and witches have always hated vampires, they're supposed to maintain the balance. I don't see how anyone is going to stand for Silas wanting to become immortal. It's a clear violation of nature, even further than vampires. This is clearly where the trouble started."

* * *

"Come out!"

" _No._ "

"C'mon, show me. I doubt it looks that bad."

"No, I can't believe I let you talk me into this, there is no way I'm going to show you my hair now."

"You're such a baby."

"That's not going to work, I'm not coming out, Bon."

"Chicken."

"Nice try."

"Coward."

"Not gonna work!"

"Pussy."

Damon huffs, grabbing the doorknob and wrenches it open, glaring at an expectant Bonnie; her eyes bulge, shock written all over her face. "Happy now?"

Bonnie grins, laughing a little. There's a pencil tucked on her ear, leftover from her wisps of brown hair falling from her messy bun, and Damon can't help but admire her a little, taking in the messy-casual look that always makes her so beautiful. "Wow, very different! I didn't think you were going to come out, honestly."

"Well, now I'm starting to regret it a little," Damon admits gruffly, crossing his arms and Bonnie's giggles subside, now looking a little more calm.

"It's different in a good way, I swear," Bonnie amends, reaching up and brushes back Damon's hair lightly, soft fingers grazing his skin. Their eyes meet and Bonnie falters, as if realizing her mistake and pulls away quickly, averting her eyes. The feeling of disappointment is almost alien to him, the way it lingers and fades in his chest at the lack of contact. "You know, if your hair was longer, you'd actually look better."

"Unfortunately, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity," Damon smirks, and Bonnie finally meets his gaze again, rolling her eyes good-naturedly.

"Come on, this is hardly the worst you've ever looked," Bonnie comments carelessly, walking away from him and flops back onto their bed, flipping through a magazine. The pencil is still stubbornly attached to her ears, only bouncing a little and the sunlight is hitting her, making her look golden in the light. "What do you want for dinner? I'm cooking."

"Whatever works for you," Damon steps back into the bathroom, examining his hair tentatively. He still feels the urge to reach for the hair straightener, it's weird seeing himself like this again. He can sense Bonnie get up from their bed, her footsteps approaching and she appears behind him in the mirror, a hand on his shoulder with a gentle smile.

"I wasn't lying, I actually like wavy hair on you," Bonnie says, sounding almost begrudging but their eyes meet in the mirror and he can see the bashfulness in her face, as if it's a dangerous confession of hers. For some reason, it only makes Damon feel more content, an emotion that he's been getting accustomed to lately. How is it that he can feel _so many_ different things about one person? Even when he was a vampire with amplified emotions, nothing has compared to what he feels for Bonnie.

And suddenly it hits Damon full force, it's like a tsunami and he's gasping for air, trying to stay afloat in his epiphany; he's not sure what set it off, if it's the bright green eyes that always seem so earnest, so full of passion or whether it's her smile, the one he'll always try to get focused on him. But the reason why he keeps longing to kiss her, the reason he goes to bed happy and wakes up feeling more upbeat is so clear. Denial can't save him anymore, there's no lie that he can feed himself that will somehow bury the truth that he loves Bonnie. He's in love with her, somewhere along the way of becoming friends and exploring every inch of her body, he's totally fallen in love with her.

* * *

Bonnie eyes the large stack of pancakes on the kitchen island, glancing quickly at a whistling Damon and sits down at the counter chair. Damon turns around to face Bonnie, holding two bowls of fruit and wearing a flowery apron. She's biting the inside of her cheek so hard, willing herself not to laugh.

"Good morning," Damon says, setting down the fruit beside Bonnie and presses a quick kiss to her head.

"Er, good morning. What's with all the food...you do realize it's just us, we're not feeding a family of five, right?" Bonnie asks, a little curious by Damon's upbeat attitude. He's rarely ever this cheerful, but usually when he makes a big meal like this, it means he needs a distraction from something on his mind; the combination of peppiness and distractions have never gone hand in hand before, though.

"Is it so wrong that I felt like pampering us a little with a nice breakfast? I know how much you love your pancakes with blueberries and whipped cream," Damon replies nonchalantly, setting down a bowl of freshly made whipped cream, and Bonnie raises an eyebrow.

"You actually made whipped cream too?"

"It's not like it was hard, Bon Bon. It tastes better than the store-bought can anyway, trust me."

Bonnie decides not to interrogate him any longer, instead choosing to put some pancakes on her plate with a couple dollops of whipped cream. If he was missing Stefan and Mystic Falls, then he would've been staring at her painting of Stefan while listening to a Bon Jovi song, or gone on a really long jog for the entire morning. This is clearly about something else, and coaxing it out of Damon could prove to blow up in her face; if he wants to talk to her, then he will. She tries not to examine him too closely, otherwise he'll notice and begin interrogating _her_ instead _._ It isn't worth the hassle this morning, and she instead starts eating her pancakes, reaching for her crossword puzzle book.

It's only when she finally cleans her plate, that the voices arrive, beckoning and calling her; she gets up from her chair, turning to Damon and trying not to slip into a trance entirely.

"I hear them, c'mon," Bonnie replies, watching as Damon gets up; she finally lets the feeling take over, breathing in the power and walks through the doorway of the kitchen, Damon is close behind her and she finds herself in another room entirely.

They're in a large room overlooking the night sky, twelve people seated in a half circle; even without her powers, Bonnie can tell that everyone in this room was very powerful. Erastus is also seated, some of the people even have runes etched onto their skin; this must be the council that Erastus mentioned before. One of them, a woman in a stola with auburn hair and golden runes on her shoulders, waves her hand and two large doors open, revealing a quiet Qetsiyah who walks into the room, nodding her head respectfully.

"You requested a confidential meeting with us, what is it you wish to discuss?" another man asks in a reedy voice, scratching his beard pensively.

"I heard some alarming news earlier today that I thought your council ought to know, considering the person in question is part of your coven. I recognize, as a foreigner, that my words mean nothing without proof, which is why I request you use any means necessary to reveal the truth," Qetsiyah explains calmly, and there's a murmur throughout the room.

"Any means necessary? You have no objections?" Erastus asks carefully, and Qetsiyah nods. The woman with the golden runes gets up from her seat, another servant scurrying forward with a paintbrush and ink in hand.

"I am Aikaterine, member of the council. I've studied runes my whole life, I have perfected the rune of Alatheia, which demands complete honesty and compliance. If you try to lie, the rune will burn your skin. The more you lie, the more it will burn and sting, and make no mistake, we will know if it begins to hurt you. Bluffing would be foolish, and even your magic will not dull the pain," the woman, Aikaterine explains drawing on a rune that Bonnie doesn't recognize; she whispers a spell, the rune glowing red for a moment before settling back to black.

"What is it you wish to discuss with us, Qetsiyah?" the man with the reedy voice asks, while Aikaterine retreats back to her seat.

"It's about my betrothed, Silas. He has confided in me about his future plans, which have been quite disturbing," Qetsiyah pauses, taking in the council's confused and slightly suspicious looks, "He wants to become fully immortal."

"You cannot be serious!" another member of the council guffaws, "Silas is a telepath and a powerful witch, but he has limits. He is not strong enough to make himself immortal. The union has already been made, this is a silly attempt to dissuade the bond of our two covens."

"Do you doubt my magic, Eutychius? The girl is clearly not in pain, she's telling the truth unless you believe my runes are not strong enough," Aikaterine retorts coldly, and there's a note of awkward silence before the man, Eutychius quickly protests.

"Of course not, Aikaterine, I know you've practiced magic all your life, I even taught you. I would never doubt your capabilities!"

Qetsiyah interjects quickly, "Silas intends for me to help him become immortal, and that I've agreed to join him in order to stop him. You're the council, your abilities are superior to mine and you have the real power to actually stop Silas's plans from succeeding."

"When does he intend to complete the spell?" another member of the council asks, her hazel eyes boring into Qetsiyah.

"In two days, at dawn. I should mention, Silas has been using other branches of magic...he's been exploring dark magic. That's how he plans to become immortal, no loopholes and no way to kill him."

The council definitely looks uneasy now, some even grim and Erastus speaks up, "We shall attend to Silas, once a plan has been formed. We have five days time to stop him, however, Qetsiyah, you will need to comply with Silas, as not to arouse suspicion. But I suggest throwing in a fail safe in the ritual."

"What do you mean? How can that escape Silas's notice? He wishes to be independent, if I draw my power from somewhere else, he will surely realize that I am against him."

"Silas has asked for you to help him for a reason, surely he needs you for the spell. You have studied plenty of magic in your time, you were a model pupil back in your village...you know how one small change in a spell can alter the results drastically. It is quite possible that if you are the one to help complete the ritual, you will find the means to undo the ritual. We shall stay in contact in secret, stay alert and send us updates if necessary. Do not approach us in a public area...Silas has many friends and allies in this village, it would do well not to give any indication that all is not as it seems. Tell no one, we've heard that you're immune to Silas's telepathy, but others may not be. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Qetsiyah," Erastus explains, nodding his head in thanks.

"A servant will be outside to release the rune from your skin," Aikaterine adds, and Qetsiyah nods as a goodbye, retreating from the hall. The council immediately breaks into frantic talk, clearly discussing the problem at hand.

"What do you think happened? Do you think that Silas killed all of them?" Bonnie asks in a hushed voice, still watching the council discussion.

"It's possible, yeah. These people seem pretty strong though, he must've been really sneaky about it. But dark magic can be pretty powerful, who knows how long he's been trying to become immortal. If he's been practicing for awhile, then he could probably take down some of them," Damon replies, sounding unusually grave.

"In a past memory, Qetsiyah said that her family was killed, something must've went wrong with the council's plans...Damon, I don't think many people are going to survive," Bonnie says, bile rising in her throat as she watches the council discussing their inevitably-failed plans.

* * *

"I've just come from the bodies, they're doing well, all their vitals are steady. Her magic is growing stronger, which means they're near the end."

"Excellent. And our shipment?"

"Just came in, we're already preparing the chains and the vervain, and we got the right blood, more than enough to restore her system once the feeding tube is removed. Are we to use all the vervain?"

"Just keep a couple strands of the herb, soak a few ropes in the water. Remember, we don't want to kill the vampire, after all, his survival is dependent on the witch's cooperation. Now, a little vervain down the throat won't mean much, but a stake in the heart will. Our prerogative is the witch, and finding Silas."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated! Next chapter will be up in a week to a month. Also, you guys didn't think it was just gonna be the honeymoon phase for bamon, did you? Unfortunately it's not going to be that easy for them. What do you think's gonna happen in the next chapter?


	10. CHAPTER 9: When I Dream of Dying, I Never Feel so Loved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from the song "Trampoline" by SHAED. Happy reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Surprise! I decided to release this chapter a day early. I'm on my reading week and just finished my midterms, so why not?
> 
> \- WARNING: SEXUAL AND SOMEWHAT VIOLENT CONTENT WILL BE IN THIS CHAPTER, READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

**5 MONTHS**

* * *

Bonnie isn't sure how she knows, she's not even sure what exactly she's sure _of_ , but time here no longer feels endless, it doesn't feel like an eternity of domestic bliss anymore. It's more like a ticking clock now, counting down to something she doesn't understand, a bomb that's going to implode soon. Even right now, every step she takes, each time her feet slap down on the pavement, it's like Bonnie can hear a clock echoing in her head; a warning that something's coming for her.

_Tick, tock._

"You know, the whole point of us sleeping in the same bed is so I can keep an eye on you," Bonnie jumps, startled by Damon's voice and turns her head to peer at him through the car window, brushing some of her hair out of her face. He's pulled the car up beside her, coming to a stop and the gentle hum of the car engine is all that can be heard along the dark street. Like her, he's still in his pyjamas, dressed in sweats and a black t-shirt; she secretly likes this look best on him.

"I haven't been out here that long. I just woke up early, I had some stuff on my mind and this place is so quiet, it helps me think," Bonnie explains, watching the pale glow of the morning sunrise starting to sweep across the sky, the dull streetlights flickering slightly.

"Care to share?" Damon asks gently, reaching over to open the passenger door for her.

Bonnie gets into the car, buckling in and shifts a little to face Damon, the car moving once more along the quiet and empty streets. She's hesitant about telling Damon that she has a gut feeling that time is limited here now, it won't really do either of them any good if he knows too. Besides, she has no proof, she could be worrying over nothing. Bonnie just wants to enjoy the peace they have, if things are coming to an end, she doesn't want to spoil it; she'll hold on to the normalcy for as long as she can. Bonnie focuses back on Damon, watching him drive, his hand flexing around the steering wheel; even his expression is almost serene and calm, as if what they're doing is _normal_ and it's the easiest thing in the world.

"If we were to go back to Mystic Falls tomorrow, what would you do?" Bonnie blurts out, and Damon looks caught off-guard by the question. She can't blame him, they never really talk about Mystic Falls all that much; after all, it's easier that way.

"Erm...well, I'd probably go to the boardinghouse, maybe have a drink and sleep in my bed for once...am I still human, or did I go back to being a vampire?"

Bonnie raises an eyebrow, "Does it make a difference in this scenario?"

Damon pauses before continuing, "Eh, maybe, maybe not. See Stefan again, how he's been, I suppose. Go to the Grill, get a drink there too."

"That's it? That's all you'd do?" Bonnie presses, and Damon shrugs.

"When you've lived as long as I have, most of your bucket list has already been checked off. What about you? You go back to Mystic Falls, completely unharmed and you can do anything."

"Probably graduate high school first, finish my senior year," Bonnie admits, "I'd like to go to college, that would be nice, but I'd like to travel too. You know that, it would nice to take a gap year and travel, or wait until I finish school. I've never been out of the country, never been to more than three states. I'd like to see what I'm missing out on. But all of these memories have me thinking that I'd like to learn more about my ancestors. I mean, I know you knew some of them, but it would be nice to see where Qetsiyah and Zuma lived."

"Sounds like you have a lot planned."

"Well, it's really just wishful thinking. But it would be kind of funny to see if this place actually exists. I like it here," Bonnie says.

"So do I."

Something in Damon's voice makes her examine him sharply, her eyes roaming over his facial features that are softened by the dull yellow streetlights; he spares a glance at her too, and his expression is inscrutable, a mix of emotions that Bonnie can't seem to decipher. And yet it's reminiscent of the way he looked at her right before they kissed, but then Damon turns back to focus on the road and the moment is over.

_Tick, tock._

* * *

Damon runs a hand through his hair, walking into the living room in search of a book when he sees Bonnie, fast asleep on the couch with her crossword book sprawled across her chest; he stops short, approaching the couch slowly. Bonnie's hair is spread out, almost forming a halo around her head and there's a light flush across the apples of her cheeks; her chest rises and falls steadily, a tiny smile playing on his lips. It makes Damon smile too, seeing her look so peaceful and it makes him wonder why he's never properly looked at her before; the answer is Katherine and Elena, but it's also more than that.

He loved Katherine, believed with all his heart that they were meant to be, and when that relationship quickly crashed and burned, he turned to Elena; Katherine's enemy in everything but looks, a second chance at a romance gone wrong. But looking back now, it's foolish to believe that him and Elena could've had something real, that they could've loved each other for who they are. And now Damon's in love with Bonnie, turning his own world upside down and yet it doesn't really hurt, not actually being _with_ her. All he knows is that he's happy when she is, he laughs when she does and he forgets for a moment about the world he's left behind, the things he's done and who he is.

A door suddenly appears in their living room, causing Damon to lurch back quickly and Bonnie practically jumps awake, her eyes already trained on the door.

"I sensed it," Bonnie explains, her voice wobbling a little and she stands up from the couch slowly; Damon grabs the doorknob, twisting it open and steps inside along with Bonnie. They're in a wide room with doors built of marble and stone, with wooden furniture and a fireplace hearth. The front doors suddenly open with a groan, Qetsiyah stepping into the room; her white robes swish back and forth, looking practically weightless but Qetsiyah seems to be on edge, fiddling with a vial in her hands.

She sits down at a desk, taking out her ink quill and writes down something on a scrap of paper; she folds it after finishing her message, holding her hands out over the paper and mutters a few words. The paper disappears immediately, and Qetsiyah looks slightly relieved, getting up from her desk when Zuma comes into the room.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you, Qetsiyah. Where were you last night? I wanted to tell you, one of the girls in the village showed me the most marvelous thing, she can make the ocean's tide fall back! I'm going with her today, you should come!" Zuma gushes, before finally looking properly at her sister, "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine, Zuma," Qetsiyah replies, trying for a reassuring smile but Zuma doesn't look convinced.

"Are you sure? And don't go lying to me, sister," Zuma frowns, giving her a searching look when she spots something over Qetsiyah's shoulder, "Did you send a message to someone?"

Qetsiyah whirls around, seeing a paper back on the desk and walks over to snatch it quickly, her eyes scanning the paper. Damon can only guess that it's not good news, watching Qetsiyah inhale a shaky breath and her face fall.

"Qetsiyah? What is it?" Zuma approaches Qetsiyah hesitantly, looking concerned.

"I...nothing, but I need you to promise me something," Qetsiyah turns back to Zuma with a pleading expression, "Stay in tonight. _Do not_ step outside, don't let anyone in and hide yourself. No matter what you hear or who comes in, stay hidden. Find some way to hide yourself, use your magic if you have to."

Zuma looks alarmed now, "Qetsiyah...what's going to happen tonight? What aren't you telling me?"

"I just need you to trust me, alright? All I can tell you is that something bad is going to happen tonight, it's going to change a lot of things."

"Well, I know you'll fix it, you're a powerful witch! Whatever happens, I know you'll be there to make sure nothing goes wrong in the end," Zuma muses, sounding confident but Qetsiyah still looks tense.

"Just-- _please_ , promise me you'll stay inside tonight."

Zuma nods, looking unusually serious, "I will, I promise."

"Good, thank you. I need to go get ready for the day, I'll see you later," Qetsiyah says, looking relieved and leaves the room; Zuma gives her sister one last look, before walking out the doors. Grey ash begins to break down the memory, and Bonnie faces Damon with a grave expression.

"Looks like it's all happening tonight for Qetsiyah."

* * *

Bonnie jumps up in bed, breathing frantically as she tries to ground herself; the room is dark, morning hasn't arrived yet and she can hear Damon breathing softly beside her. She rubs her eyes tiredly, not entirely sure why she woke up with a start; all she knows is a vice-like grip in her belly, somehow ripping her away from sleep and causing her to jump awake, feeling off-kilter and slightly panicked. She's not even sure if it was a nightmare or something else entirely that woke her up.

Suddenly, it's like she's a marionette attached with strings, moving with no control over her body; the whispers have joined her, surrounding her and it makes everything feel more hazy. She's aware that she's moving towards her bedroom door, she hasn't even managed to wake up Damon but the pull is too strong, she _has_ to know what the next memory is. She opens the bedroom door, stepping into a completely different area; it takes a second for her to adjust to the change in light and sound, but when she finally does, panic rises in her throat.

Bonnie stands there, paralyzed to the spot as she listens to people screaming, everyone's running around, crying out and some are crumpled on the ground, unmoving. Fires are burning bright, smoke wafting through the sky and some buildings are crumbling to the ground.

"There she is! Qetsiyah's over here!" a man yells, and Bonnie turns around to see Qetsiyah in the distance, surrounded by three men; Bonnie immediately runs over, panting as she approaches the group.

"Where is Silas?" Qetsiyah yells vehemently, her eyes ablaze with fury. "He's a coward, choosing hide from me!"

"Rest assured, Silas will find you soon enough, once he's done with the council members. They thought they had the upper hand, but we got them good. Of course, once we deliver you to him, he won't need to find you at all," one of the men answers, smiling pleasantly.

"How did he find out?"

"We'll leave that to Silas. Now, come with us or I'm afraid force will be involved," another man answers, and Qetsiyah narrows her eyes, jutting her chin out in defiance.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Qetsiyah mutters something under her breath, slamming a fist down to meet the ground; it roils under her touch, and the three men fly back several feet, slamming into the ground hard and they seem to be unconscious. Qetsiyah takes off again, running through the village and Bonnie follows, trying to see where her ancestor's heading. They run past screaming families, children crying for their parents and more houses on fire, the smoke wafting up into the night; they make it past the courtyard where Silas and Qetsiyah talked about becoming immortal, all the flowers wilted and columns have collapsed, trees burnt to a crisp.

Qetsiyah finally runs into a house and Bonnie follows, when Qetsiyah suddenly gasps, leaning against the wall for support and her chest heaving quickly. Bonnie follows her gaze, unconsciously clapping a hand over her mouth and feeling a little unsteady all of a sudden; Qetsiyah's parents lay on the ground in front of them, bloodied and somewhat bruised, their eyes still.

"No, no, no," Qetsiyah moans, when she notices the other body in the room; it's Zuma, slumped against the wall with a knife in her chest, all the vibrancy of life sucked from her body. Qetsiyah cries out in shock, rushing over to Zuma's body and clutches at her body, already sobbing and hiccuping slightly, "No no no...you can't be dead, you can't be dead! PLEASE, COME BACK! I told you to stay safe...why didn't you listen?! PLEASE, DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Qetsiyah screams out in agony, the walls around her suddenly blasting apart and Bonnie knows it's Qetsiyah's magic, her pain feeding her power. Qetsiyah suddenly spots something through her tears, and Bonnie follows her gaze to see words written in blood on the wall: _A GIFT FROM YOUR BETROTHED_. Qetsiyah's expression goes from grief to fury, wiping her tears and she rises slowly; she glances at the bodies of her family, her face darkening.

"Silas won't get away with this," Qetsiyah mutters viciously, already out of the room and Bonnie tries to follow, stepping out of the doors but only finds herself back in the middle of the neighbourhood street in front of her house.

"SHIT!" Bonnie bellows, whirling around angrily. Silas is clearly worse than evil, the whole village is in chaos and the memory just ended like that. How is she supposed to know what happened to Qetsiyah, if she managed to defeat Silas?

"WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU GO?!" a voice roars, and Bonnie whirls around to see Damon marching towards her, looking furious.

"What the hell are you--"

"YOU WERE GONE FOR HOURS! I WOKE UP, YOU WERE GONE WITHOUT ANYTHING LEFT BEHIND, NOT EVEN A NOTE OR-"

"I didn't mean to leave you!" Bonnie protests loudly, feeling annoyed, "If I knew that I was going to see Qetsiyah's entire family killed, then I would've stopped to grab you!"

Damon crosses his arms, looking less angry now, "The whole point is that we go together."

"I didn't mean to leave you," Bonnie replies coolly, and Damon looks a little sheepish now. 

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. Look--what happened in the memory, hmm? Is Qetsiyah okay?" Damon asks gently, changing the subject in an effort for reconciliation and Bonnie decides to silently accept the gesture, albeit begrudgingly.

"Silas knows that Qetsiyah told the council about his plans, the whole village is in chaos. I saw Qetsiyah's family...her parents, Zuma, they're dead, Silas killed them."

"Oh, shit," Damon looks alarmed, "What's Qetsiyah gonna do?"

"Honestly? I think she's going to kill him."

_Tick, tock._

* * *

Damon eyes Bonnie subtly as they watch TV, her arms wrapped around herself like she's trying to protect herself from danger. She's been eerily quiet all day, trying to look somewhat cheerful but Damon's not buying it; he suspects that the memory was much more disturbing in person, and she's having a hard time dealing with it. Not that he blames her, but it won't do Bonnie any good if she doesn't let out her emotions.

"Why do you keep staring at me?" Bonnie asks, sounding numb and Damon shifts to face her, deciding to be honest.

"Because you're not okay, and I'm worried about you."

"I'll be fine, I'll get over it."

" _No,_ you won't because you're not talking about it. I'm the king of denial, everyone knows this, so I can tell when other people aren't being honest with themselves."

For a second, Damon thinks Bonnie's about to start yelling at him, but instead she deflates, "What do you want me to say? I had to watch innocent people _die_ , and I couldn't do anything to help them. And seeing Qetsiyah lose her entire family to Silas, knowing that his coven could still be out there, I feel like that could end up being me. I know all these memories are about Silas and Qetsiyah, so this means that I could be his target, and he's going to kill m-"

Damon flashes to Bonnie's side immediately, gripping her hands fiercely, " _No one_ is going to kill you. Right now, we're safe, no one can hurt you in here, okay? You don't have to get pulled back into anything, we can stay here or run away. I'll go with you, I'll stand behind whatever decision you make."

Bonnie gives him a bittersweet smile, her eyes glassy, "You'd really do that? You'd stay here, or run away? Leave Mystic Falls behind?"

Damon swallows, nodding and tries not to focus on how vulnerable he's being with Bonnie. "I'll go wherever you go, as long as you're safe."

Bonnie studies him for a moment, their hands still linked together and she finally speaks in a soft but decisive voice, "I want a shower."

Damon sucks in a sharp breath, and they both get up, heading upstairs; no other words need to be said, no questions need to be asked, Damon knows what Bonnie's really asking of him. At some point, their hands somehow intertwine again, the two of them climbing up the stairs together and the tension settles over them like fog, anticipation building. They finally make it to their bathroom, Damon shutting the door to their bedroom; Bonnie watches him carefully as she takes off her top. Damon takes off his shirt as well, walking over to Bonnie and lifts her up, placing her on the bathroom counter; he's caught by her eyes, noticing how dark they are and how far blown her pupils are until she kisses him hungrily and Damon responds eagerly, his hand caressing her head gently and he can feel her hands running down his back.

"I actually do need a shower, you know," Bonnie informs him, half-gasping as Damon places chaste, open-mouthed kisses along her neck. "You might want to get some lube...maybe some condoms as well. In my nightstand, still there."

"And why would I leave you?" Damon asks, his hands running along her thighs playfully and Bonnie smiles, her eyes fluttering a little.

"Because when you get back, I'll be waiting for you in the shower."

Damon growls, stepping away reluctantly and practically runs out of the room, hearing an echo of Bonnie's laugh; he rifles through her nightstand quickly, grabbing the lube and condoms and nearly sprints back into the bathroom. He can hear the sound of the shower now, shutting the door again and spots Bonnie through the clear glass wall of the shower, suddenly overwhelmed with arousal.

She's smoothing out her wet hair, every curve of brown skin is visible and Damon can't believe his luck, the fact that he's doing this again with her. He strips out of his pants and boxers, stepping into the shower with the lube and a few condom packets; he sets them down on the shelf in the shower, and then captures Bonnie's mouth in a kiss again, pressing her against the shower tiles.

"You feel so good...so fucking hot," Damon murmurs between kisses, grabbing the lube and puts some on his fingers, slipping a finger inside her. She gasps, clutching his shoulders tightly and he glances at her quickly, noticing her mouth is slightly open with a euphoric expression all over her face. _He wants to stay in this moment forever._ He slips another finger in, relishing in her moans and whimpers as he captures her mouth in another bruising kiss.

"Please, please, please…" Bonnie whines, but he takes out his finger before she can orgasm. "Fuck, why did you stop?"

Damon gestures to his dick, condom already on and he's lathering it with lube. Bonnie hums in anticipation, lifting a leg up; she watches with lidded eyes as he steps closer again, positioning himself and enters inside her with one fluid motion. She gasps, teeth grazing against his shoulder and her nails are digging into his skin, she's holding onto him as if he's the liferaft in the middle of the ocean, her salvation in the midst of a storm. She moans, the sound echoing off the walls and Damon has never heard anything more wonderful. He begins to thrust, Bonnie throwing her head back with a whimper and their eyes meet, water droplets running down their faces.

"Go faster," Bonnie whispers, her chest heaving and he can see the lust in her eyes, thrusting quickly inside her, an indecipherable feeling exploding inside himself as she begins to moan his name. " _Damon_...omigod, omigod... _Damon_ …"

He's so tempted to say _I love you_ , the words are on the tip of his tongue but he knows it'll ruin the moment, stir up more problems and he doesn't want that for Bonnie. He just rides the high, both of them coming at the same time and he releases himself, his body still on fire and every nerve feels like it's been awakened, every cell in his body just aching to be close to _her._ Damon knows that Bonnie doesn't love him, not the way he does but it doesn't bug him as much as it should. All he can feel in this moment is _her._

"So," Bonnie bumps Damon's forehead playfully with a smirk, "ready for another round?"

* * *

"This album is the shit, I don't even care that she never released another album. I used to listen to it all the time when I was a kid, it was the first CD I ever bought," Bonnie explains, sitting on the floor with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill CD sitting in her lap. Damon's sitting on the couch, indulging in a glass of bourbon since it's after dinner.

"You know, I partied with the Fugees once. Just for a night, but I remember it was pretty wild," Damon smirks, and Bonnie's jaw drops, slightly disbelieving.

"No way."

"I'm not lying! We were at the same club, hanging out in the same area and you know, the drinks kept coming so we had some fun."

"Yeah, right…" Bonnie trails off, realizing the whispers have returned; it's almost intoxicating, trying to decipher their words. All she can feel is this raw ache inside her, the burning curiosity to find out what all the memories mean; it almost makes her choked up, it would be suffocating if it didn't feel so alluring, but Bonnie doesn't want to go.

_Tick, tock._

She isn't sure what's going to happen if she goes in the memory, if they'll even come back out this time.

_Tick, tock._

"Bonnie, what's wrong?" she vaguely hears Damon ask, her eyelids fluttering slightly and he's holding her tenderly, one arm around her back and the other clutching her hand.

"Nothing. It's just a memory, but it's fine, I don't want to-ah!" Bonnie cries out in pain, a wave of pain erupts in her head and the pull to find the memory grows even stronger, becoming more aggressive and almost parasitic. She tries to pace her breathing, whimpering a little and she's gripping Damon's hand tightly.

"Bonnie, please, tell me what to do, how can I fix this, Bonnie, let me help you, please…" Damon begs, sounding panicked.

"I need to find the memory...it's hurting me," Bonnie rasps, "Help me get up, please."

Bonnie had just meant for him to help her stand properly, but instead he picks her up bridal-style, her head resting against his chest. She wants to protest and just stand on her own, but she's too overwhelmed with need and curiosity.

"Where do we go?"

"The front door."

Bonnie's not sure how she knows, but she can just tell that's where she needs to go like all the other times when a memory would come around; Damon gets up slowly, walking through the house and she can hear the steady thrum of his heart. He reaches the door, bending down a little to open it and steps inside. The pain subsides and Bonnie manages to look around properly, realizing they're outside but they're no longer on the house porch.

"You can put me down now, I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"I'm okay now, I swear."

"Okay," Damon sets her down gently, but he doesn't back away, staying close by as if she's going to collapse again. Bonnie notices they're in a courtyard, the same one where Silas and Qetsiyah talked except there are a few bodies scattered, the flowers have died out and only a few small fires remain to give light; Bonnie spots Qetsiyah approaching, a murderous expression on her face and her dress is ripped, a few cuts and scrapes on her body.

"Come out, Silas, you snake!" Qetsiyah yells venomously, looking around the courtyard closely and Silas steps out of the shadows, a truly evil smile on his face and he's a little beat up too, but Bonnie can finally see what's been lurking underneath all along, the greedy monster that craves power.

"Did you like my gift, Qetsiyah? I thought you'd enjoy it, seeing your entire family dead because of _your_ actions. Did you know that they actually tried to fight me? It was quite sweet, but pointless. I killed your father first, he had no idea what was happening until I stabbed him, it was kind of amusing. Then your mother came into the room, she was a real fighter, killed three of my men but it was no use! She was overpowered, and I killed her too. And your poor sister, Zuma...she tried to fight us, even killed one man but I crushed her like a bug. Did you know that she called for you? She screamed for you, begging you to come save her, but you never did!" Silas taunts her, and Qetsiyah's eyes sparkle with unshed tears, her jaw clenched.

"How did you find out?"

"My love, did you think that I would be unprepared for a betrayal of some kind? I had spies everywhere in the village, I know more than the pathetic council ever did. It was just a matter of watching you, and using my telepathy to force the contents of your meeting with the council out of one of their members. Now, I had intended to make this village my starting point for my empire but obviously, no one would be on board with my plans and so they had to die."

"If you think I'm going to let you get away with this, that I won't punish-"

"You're wasting your breath. I already did the spell and drank the chalice, your pretty little blood filled me right up. I'm immortal! You can fight me if you wish, but you won't make it out alive. Once I kill you, me and my men will be leaving, I need to get started on my empire."

"Interesting. I'm afraid you're mistaken, though. The blood you drank wasn't mine, in fact it wasn't even blood at all," Qetsiyah explains calmly, and Silas's smile fades, turning into a growl. "Oh Silas, like all arrogant and greedy men, you've let your want for power blind you."

Qetsiyah suddenly claps her hands together, Silas shrieking in pain and Qetsiyah rubs her palms together, chanting loudly. Silas's face is contorted in pain, his muscles flexing hard and Qetsiyah takes out a vial of blood, pouring it down Silas's throat; she ends the spell, stepping away quickly from Silas and he gives her a look of pure hatred, coughing slightly.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Silas screams, sounding like a madman, "YOU CANNOT KILL ME, I WILL ALWAYS BE THERE! I WILL KILL YOU, I WILL SLAUGHTER ANY FAMILY OF YOURS, I WILL KILL ANY CHILDREN YOU HAVE AND THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN! YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL NEVER BE SAFE FROM ME, I WILL SLAUGHTER ALL OF THEM! YOUR FAMILY WILL NEVER BE SAFE FROM ME OR MY MEN!"

He means me, Bonnie realizes dizzily; if Silas is still alive, then she'll be killed. Qetsiyah shows no sign of fear, only looking stone-faced, "It wasn't my intention to kill you, Silas. It was my gift for you, just like the one you gave me. It's something that you can cherish forever and ever."

Qetsiyah raises her hands in the air, muttering a few words and a sacrophagus rises from the ground, clumsily made out of stone and jewels. She directs her hand towards Silas, raising him in the air and pins him down into the coffin, "It's true, you are immortal but I put in a little fail-safe. The blood you thought was mine is actually a potion of my creation, and the vial you just drank is simply an agent that will kickstart my spell. I have bound your survival to blood, you'll still live but the longer you go without a sip of blood, you will become mummified and trapped, shrinking into a husk."

Bonnie can see Qetsiyah's face scrunched in concentration, and the sacrophagus shakes a little; Silas is trying to use his magic against Qetsiyah, and she speaks again in a measured voice, "Enjoy your eternity, Silas. However, if you wish to part with immortality, I have prepared something special to free you of eternal life."

Qetsiyah drops in a small bloodred vial that Bonnie doesn't recognize, and Qetisyah begins to chant in an ancient language, her eyes shut and her hands over the sarcophagus, trembling slightly. The fires around them grow brighter and stronger as Qetsiyah's chants grow louder, Silas roaring with anger from inside the coffin; the sarcophagus shakes slightly, Silas is trying to fight back with his own magic but it's no use.

Qetsiyah finally stops chanting, falling to her knees with a sigh of relief and Silas is still yelling, but the sarcophagus doesn't budge. Whatever spell she enacted, had worked. The whispers return to Bonnie's ears, carried by the wind and she finally understands what they've been saying all this time, the message she's supposed to hear.

_The Easternmost point of North America. The Easternmost point of North America. The Easternmost point of North America._

"Bonnie?" Damon calls over the gradually increasing sound of the wind, "Something's happening."

The wind starts to grow stronger, almost roaring in Bonnie's ears; Qetsiyah and the sacrophagus abruptly disappear, but Bonnie and Damon are still in the courtyard. She can feel her feet slipping against the ground, the force of the wind pushing her away from Damon and nearly making her fly up into the sky. Damon tries to reach her, but he's clearly struggling and they both slip back, ending up even further apart. She's managed to grab onto the edge of a broken column, but her grip's slipping quickly while Damon is clutching the leg of a bench, looking stricken.

"DAMON, I'M SORRY!" Bonnie yells apologetically, and Damon's eyes widen with fear.

"BONNIE, DON'T!"

Bonnie shuts her eyes, letting her grip slip away and gets whipped up into the night, her scream intermingled with Damon's cry as darkness takes over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are appreciated! Next chapter will be up in a week to a month. What happened to Bonnie and Damon? I hope their shower sex scene wasn't too bad, it's my first time writing anything like that so I was a little nervous about whether it's good or not. How do we feel about Silas and Qetsiyah now that we know their story?


End file.
